The Douglas Mawson, the newest expedition ship in Aurora Expeditions' fleet, has just marked a full year in service — and it's been a busy one, taking in Tasmania, East Antarctica, the Mediterranean and Scandinavia since its September 2025 delivery.

The 170-passenger vessel is the seventh and final ship in SunStone Maritime's Infinity class, built at China Merchants Heavy Industry's yard in Haimen, China. Aurora operates it on a long-term charter, alongside two sister ships, the Greg Mortimer and Sylvia Earle. It's named after Sir Douglas Mawson, the Australian geologist and Antarctic pioneer, and was christened in Sydney by his great-granddaughter Emma McEwing before the first paying guests came aboard.

The ship's technical credentials are the real story for anyone eyeing a polar trip. It carries Polar Class 6 certification, Ulstein's X-Bow design (which softens the ride in rough seas), Safe Return to Port systems, virtual anchoring and zero-speed stabilisers — the kind of kit you want when you're staring down the Drake Passage or nudging through sea ice.

Its maiden season kicked off on 1 December 2025 with an 11-night roundtrip from Hobart, exploring South Bruny Island, the Freycinet Peninsula and Recherche Bay in Tasmania. From there it pushed further south for East Antarctica and Ross Sea expeditions, then repositioned to Europe in 2026 to run Mediterranean and Northern Europe itineraries under Aurora's Vantage Explorations program.

Now, having wrapped its European season in mid-October, the ship is heading back to the ice. Its second Antarctic season sails from Ushuaia, Argentina, with itineraries covering the Antarctic Peninsula, Elephant Island, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands — a route that packs some of the Southern Ocean's best wildlife and history into one voyage.

For travellers, the news matters in a simple way: there's one more modern, purpose-built small ship chasing Antarctica itineraries, which tends to mean more date options and a range of cabin price points in a market where berths on expedition vessels sell out early. If you prefer your expedition cruising closer to home, the ship's first-year pattern — Australia summer, Europe summer — also hints at how Aurora rotates its fleet, so Tasmania and East Antarctica cruises are worth watching when this ship cycles back.