Maersk announced that the 'Spirit of Melbourne', operating on its OCEANIA service, has been renamed 'TW Vijay' on Oct 27, 2026, due to a change in ownership. The carrier requested customers note this vessel name change for their records and future reference.
News
OCEAN ENDEAVOUR
Sold/Decommissioned
The U.S. mining, exploration, and development company Critical Metals Corp., has become the latest owner of thr former Soviet passenger ferry 'Konstantin Simonov', now operating as 'Ocean Endeavour'. In recent months, the ship had housed troops and personnel in Greenland. The Critical Metals Corp., which is undertaking a major rare earth mineral project in Greenland, has acquired the former expedition cruise ship at a cost of €7.5 million ($8.5 million) to house about 300 workers for its Tanbreez project in Greenland. The vessel was owned by the SunStone Marine Group and has been chartered to various companies. Recently, the Danish Defence gad chartered the vessel, which has a capacity to accommodate 190 passengers and a crew and staff of 124 to house Danish and NATO troops during the Arctic Endurance exercise. The vessel has changed ownership several times. In the early 2000s, she was converted to a cruise ship and briefly operated for an Israeli company before being outfitted for polar cruising in 2015. Last month, SunStone announced that the ship was up for sale. The Nasdaq-listed Critical Metals has purchased the ice-strengthened vessel owing her proven operating history in both the Arctic and Antarctic environments and would make the ship well-suited to support year-round activities associated with the development of the Tanbreez critical minerals project. The 'Ocean Endeavour' was to provide flexible housing capacity for up to 300 project personnel, in effect minimising the demand on local housing and hotel capacity in Greenland. For Critical Metals, providing self-contained accommodation for its workforce means there will be minimal strain on the limited hotel and tourism infrastructure in Qaqortoq and the surrounding region. The vessel will be moored adjacent to the Tanbreez project. On Sep 20, 2026, the 'Ocean Endeavour' left Nuuk. OIn Nov 1, it transited the Kiel Canal enroute from Vigo to Sczcezin, where it was to be refitted for the new task.
