Aurora Expeditions has entered a collaboration with Australian climate-technology firm CounterCurrent to deploy its AI-powered navigation system on the Douglas Mawson ship. The initiative, set to begin when the vessel launches in December 2025, marks a step forward in using advanced data technology to improve both safety and environmental performance in polar navigation.
Throughout the 2025–2026 Antarctic season, Douglas Mawson will carry a CounterCurrent sensor designed to capture live measurements of wind, wave, and current conditions in remote Southern Ocean waters. The data will contribute to global weather and oceanographic models, supporting better forecasting accuracy and facilitating more efficient, lower-emission routing for the broader maritime sector.
Aurora Expeditions noted that the collaboration with CounterCurrent and the Polar Citizen Science Collective will help address the scarcity of real-time oceanic data from polar regions. The company indicated that by sharing data collected on each voyage, it aims to contribute to safer and more sustainable maritime operations worldwide.
CounterCurrent’s system employs artificial intelligence, onboard instrumentation, and satellite analysis to generate vessel-specific routing recommendations that optimise fuel use by aligning ship trajectories with prevailing currents. This technology has the potential to reduce fuel consumption and emissions while improving operational safety in complex polar environments.
The partnership complements Aurora’s ongoing sustainability initiatives, which include projects with Seawilding, Veritree, and Clean Hub, as well as citizen-science collaborations such as HappyWhale, FjordPhyto, and NASA Globe Cloud.