Ocean Atlantic Arrives in Aliaga

Wrapping up a 40-year cruising career, SunStone Ships’ Ocean Atlantic has arrived in Aliaga, Turkey, for recycling.

After spending several months laid up in Northern France, the expedition vessel embarked on its last voyage in late April before arriving at its final destination on May 3, 2025.

The Ocean Atlantic is now expected to soon be beached for dismantling at the Aliaga Shipbreaking Yard.

During the process, all of its building materials, fixtures, systems and furniture are set to be recycled or repurposed.

According to the latest edition of the Expedition Cruise Market by Cruise Industry News, the sale of the Ocean Atlantic is part of SunStone’s strategy to slowly retire the older tonnage and focus exclusively on new vessels.

A major tonnage provider in the expedition market, the company recently embarked on a newbuild program that saw the construction of six Infinity-class vessels.

A seventh ship in the series, the Douglas Mawson, is currently under construction in China for a 2025 delivery.

Originally built as a cruise ferry in the 1980s, the Ocean Atlantic last operated cruises for Albatros Expeditions.

The 186-guest vessel sailed its farewell expedition in mid-2022, after having the remainder of its schedule cancelled due to technical issues.

At the time, Albatros said that the chartered ship was in poor condition after a long pandemic-related layup and a stint as a refugee asylum for war-impacted Ukrainians.

Part of a series of seven ships built for Soviet shipping companies in Poland, the Ocean Atlantic was first launched as the Konstantin Chernenko.

The 12,798-ton ship was later converted into an ice-strengthened cruise ship, operating in polar regions under charter for various brands.

In addition to Albatros, other cruise lines that chartered the vessel include the Pacific Cruise Company and Quark Expeditions.

Last April, Positive Polar announced plans to buy the ship for its new science-focused operations, which did not materialize.