World Voyager Enters Emergency Drydock Before Antarctic Season
German engineers from SKF will assist with replacing the stabilizer, while World Voyager's repositioning voyage to Antarctica is set to begin the week of October 19, 2026.
Mystic Cruises’ 200-guest World Voyager is undergoing an emergency drydock at Lisnave Shipyard in Setubal, Portugal, to replace a stabilizer ahead of its Antarctic deployment. Chief Executive Officer Mario Ferreira said the work requires a week in the yard after deficiencies were found in the equipment.
The ship is scheduled to begin expedition cruises from Argentina in early November, sailing for Quark Expeditions during the 2026-27 Antarctic season.
Ferreira said guest safety and comfort were Mystic’s priorities in arranging the work. Of the shipyard, he said: “They quickly advised us to bring in the German engineers from SKF to help us replace the stabilizer.”
World Voyager was built in 2020 at the West Sea shipyard in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The 9,934-gross-ton vessel has an ice-class rating of 1B and forms part of the Mystic-built series that includes World Navigator and World Traveller.
World Voyager sails for Mystic’s Atlas Ocean Voyages during the summer and Quark during the winter. The vessel previously operated for Mystic’s German brand, Nicko Cruises, before transferring to Atlas in 2023.
For Quark, World Voyager will replace sister ship World Explorer, which has operated seasonally for the expedition company since its debut in 2019. That 200-passenger vessel is leaving the expedition market. Windstar Cruises has bought it.
Ferreira said World Voyager’s repositioning voyage to Antarctica is scheduled to begin during the week of October 19, 2026.
