Plancius

General Information

The Plancius was built in 1976 as an oceanographic research vessel for the Royal Dutch Navy and was named “Hr. Ms. Tydeman”. The ship sailed for the Dutch Navy until June 2004 and was eventually purchased by Oceanwide Expeditions. The vessel was completely rebuilt as a 116-passenger vessel in 2009 and complies with the latest SOLAS-regulations (Safety Of Life At Sea). The Plancius is classed by Lloyd’s Register and flies the Dutch flag.

• Length: 89 meters
• Breadth: 14.5 meters
• Draft: 5 meters
• Ice class: 1D
• Displacement: 3,211 tons
• Propulsion: 3x Diesel-Electric
• Average cruising speed: 10.5 knots
• Passengers: 116 in 53 cabins
• Completely rebuilt in 2009
• Registered: The Netherlands

Accommodations

The Plancius has 53 passenger cabins with private toilet and shower in 4 quadruple cabins, 2 triple cabins, 9 twin porthole cabins, 26 twin window cabins and 2 twin deluxe cabins, all (ca. 12.5 square meters) and 10 superior cabins (ca. 21 square meters). All cabins offer lower berths (one double bed in the superior cabins and two single beds in the twin cabins), except for the 4 quadruple cabins (two upper and two lower berths) and 2 triple cabins (one upper and two lower berths).

The vessel offers a restaurant/lecture room on deck 3 and a spacious observation lounge (with bar) on deck 5 with large windows, offering full panorama view. The Plancius has large open deck spaces (with full walk-around possibilities on deck 4), giving excellent opportunities to enjoy the scenery and wildlife. She is furthermore equipped with 10 Mark V Zodiacs, including 60 HP 4-stroke outboard engines and 2 gangways on the starboard side, guaranteeing a swift Zodiac operation.

The Plancius is comfortable and nicely decorated, but is not a luxury vessel. Our voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic regions are primarily defined by an exploratory educational travel program, spending as much time ashore as possible. The Plancius fully meets our demands to achieve this. The vessel is equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system which reduces the noise and vibration of the vessel considerably. The 3 diesel engines generate 1,230 horse-power each, giving the vessel a speed of 10 – 12 knots. The vessel is ice-strengthened and was specially built for oceanographic voyages. The Plancius is manned by an international crew of 37 (18 nautical crew and 19 hotel crew).