Akademik Shokalskiy

The 1982-built MV Akademik Shokalskiy ("Академик Шокальский") is an ice-strengthened polar expedition cruise ship owned by the Russian Federation and operated under charter by the Christchurch NZ-based Heritage Expeditions, a New Zealand travel company specializing in Arctic and Antarctic cruises and wildlife tours. Although state-owned, the vessel is managed by FERHRI — the Vladivostok-based Far Eastern Regional Hydrometeorological Research Institute. Another vessel chartered by Heritage Expeditions NZ is the Professor Khromov (built in 1983, also known as Spirit of Enderby).

The vessel (IMO number 8010336) is currently flagged in Russia (MMSI 273458210) and registered/homeported in Vladivostok.

This polar-class expedition ship was built in Finland and was originally used as an oceanographic research vessel. Following a major drydock refurbishment in 1998, she began operating on Arctic and Antarctic research missions, as well as privately chartered polar expedition cruise itineraries. Other vessels from the same Akademik Shuleykin-class, which have been converted and now operate as cruise ships, include Akademik Shuleykin (1982, now Polar Pioneer), Professor Molchanov (1982), Professor Multanovskiy (1983), and Professor Khromov (1984, formerly Spirit of Enderby).

The ship is named after Yuly Mikhailovich Shokalsky (1856–1940), a Russian oceanographer and cartographer. Onboard amenities and facilities include two passenger decks, a dining room, a bar, a library, and a sauna.

MS Shokalskiy cruises along Russia's Arctic coast, including the Northeast Passage route, and to East Antarctica, with roundtrip departures from Ushuaia, Argentina.

Between December 25, 2013, and January 8, 2014, the ship was trapped in heavy ice in Antarctica. The incident occurred in Commonwealth Bay during the "Australasian Antarctic Expedition." All passengers, including scientists and cruise tourists, were evacuated on January 2, 2014.

• The ship had been chartered for the "Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013–2014." Of the 74 people onboard, there were 4 journalists, 19 scientists, 26 cruise tourists, the expedition leader's family (his wife and two children), and 22 crew/staff. The voyage to Antarctica departed from Bluff, New Zealand.
• On December 25, 2013 (around 07:20 a.m.), the vessel broadcast a distress signal after becoming trapped in thick ice near Antarctica's coast—approximately 190 km (120 mi) east of the Dumont D'Urville base and around 2800 km (1700 mi) south of Hobart, Tasmania.
• The Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, French icebreaker L'Astrolabe, and Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis were dispatched to assist. Xue Long arrived first but could not get closer than about 11 km (7 mi) from the ship. It deployed a helicopter to assist with the rescue. L'Astrolabe was also halted by thick ice. On December 27, Aurora Australis approached to within about 19 km (12 mi) of the stranded vessel.
• On January 2, 2014, all 52 passengers were airlifted from MV Akademik Shokalskiy to Aurora Australis using the helicopter from Xue Long.
• After the rescue, Aurora Australis continued on a supply mission to Casey Station (Australia’s permanent Antarctic base) and returned to Hobart, Tasmania, on January 22, 2014.
• The 22 crew members remained aboard the ship until it was freed on January 8. The vessel returned to Bluff, New Zealand, on January 14. No injuries were reported.

MS Shokalskiy is one of ten Akademik Shuleykin-class Russian ships built in the mid-1980s in Finland for the Soviet Union’s oceanographic research efforts. About half of these vessels were later chartered for polar cruise operations.

Akademik Shokalskiy is one of the Laivateollisuus-built research ships of the USSR’s Akademik Shuleykin-class (Project 637). The vessel (Turku shipyard/hull number 343) is powered by two marine diesel engines (model 6ChRN 36/45) with a combined power output of 2.3 MW. The propulsion system includes a single shaft and one CPP (controllable-pitch propeller).

Laivateollisuus Oy was a shipyard in Turku, Finland, that operated from 1944 to 1988. In 1983, it was acquired by Valmet Marine, which became part of Wärtsilä in 1987, before being shut down in 1988. Laivateollisuus built various types of vessels, including a total of ninety 3-masted wooden schooners. At its peak, the shipyard was Turku's third-largest (after Valmet and Crichton-Vulcan), employing around 750 people.

Itineraries

On August 23, 2020, the ship began a 27-day eastbound Northeast Passage voyage (Anadyr to Murmansk) along the Russian Arctic Sea Route, with stops at the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago. Again chartered by Heritage Expeditions (New Zealand), the voyage repeated the ship's Northeast Passage expedition from 2017.