Polar Pioneer

Polar Pioneer is a Finnish-built expedition cruise ship managed by the Swedish shipowners Polar Alca Maritime AB.

The Polar Pioneer in Shetland
History
Cyprus
Name	Akademik Shuleykin (1982–2001) Polar Pioneer (2001–present)
Owner	Polar Alca Maritime AB
Operator	Polar Pioneer Management AS
Port of registry	Leningrad, 1982–1993 Saint Petersburg, 1993–2012[1] Limassol, 2021-present
Builder	Oy Laivateollisuus Ab, Turku, Finland
Yard number	342[1]
Completed	7 July 1982
In service	1982
Identification	Call sign: 5BSP5 IMO number: 8010324 MMSI number: 273454860
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class and type	Akademik Shuleykin class research vessel
Tonnage	1,753 GT 526 NT[1]
Length	71.06 m (233.1 ft)[1]
Beam	12.82 m (42.1 ft)[1]
Draught	4.5 m (15 ft)
Depth	6.45 m (21.2 ft)
Decks	2[1]
Installed power	2 × 6CHRNP 36/45 (6ЧРН36/45) 2,294 kilowatts (3,076 hp)[1]
Propulsion	1 controllable-pitch propeller
Speed	26 km/h (16 mph; 14 kn)
Capacity	54 passengers[1]
Crew	23

Polar Pioneer in the Errera Channel of Antarctica

The ship was built in Finland in 1982 as the Akademik Schuleykin (Russian: Академик Шулейкин), an ice-strengthened research ship, and for many years she plied the waters of the USSR's northern coast. In 2000 she was refurbished in St. Petersburg to provide comfortable accommodation for 54 passengers.[2]

Her sister ships are Akademik Shokalskiy, Arnold Veymer, Akademik Gamburtsev, Professor Molchanov, Professor Multanovskiy, Geolog Dmitriy Nalivkin, Professor Polshkov, Professor Khromov.

Polar Pioneer is chartered by Polar Pioneer Management AS.