Ultra-luxury cruise line Seabourn has marked another milestone in the construction of its new expedition ship, Seabourn Venture, with the completion of ice model testing for the ship’s PC-6 rated hull.

The testing, completed at a large indoor testing basin at Aker Arctic in Finland, provides a proven and effective means of ensuring Seabourn Venture’s hull design will perform as intended in the ice conditions it may encounter.

A ship rated to PC-6 Polar Class standards is capable of summer and autumn operation in ice conditions in Antarctica, the Arctic, and other exotic destinations around the world.

“Seabourn Venture is certainly going to be up to the task”

“We know that Seabourn Venture will deliver on the expedition experiences we’re creating after seeing this series of tests completed,” said Robin West, vice president of Expedition Operations for Seabourn. “Our team is fully committed to taking luxury expedition travellers to some of the world’s most sought after locations and Seabourn Venture is certainly going to be up to the task with its purpose-built design.”

During the ice testing series, a scale model mock-up of the ship’s hull is connected to a test carriage where manoeuvring and operational tests can be conducted while Seabourn and Carnival Corporation team members look on through a series of viewing windows.

According to Seabourn’s official statement, more details and full-colour renderings of the ship and its interior spaces will be released in the months ahead.