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From polar exploration to rare wildlife encounters – how to sell AE Expeditions' new ship in five steps

Antarctica
Bella Falk
15 December 2025

Purpose-built for polar exploration and launched in Sydney on 27 November 2025, the Douglas Mawson is the third ship in AE Expeditions’ fleet. Here's a guide to the highlights of the ship and which destinations it will sail to. 

AE Expeditions' Douglas Mawson ship
Credit: Bella Falk/ AE Expeditions

Writer Bella Falk retraced Douglas Mawon's journey from Australia to the remote East Antarctica on AE Expeditions' third vessel, Douglas Mawson (Credit: Bella Falk/ AE Expeditions)

What do agents need to know?

It’s named after Sir Douglas Mawson, a British-Australian polar explorer and contemporary of both Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott. In 1911, he led a team to explore the Antarctic, but the mission turned into tragedy when both his companions died, and Mawson only survived by hiking 100 miles alone across the frozen wilderness.

Although extremely comfortable, it's important to remember Douglas Mawson is an expedition vessel – not a cruise ship, in other words. It prioritises wildlife encounters and exploring remote environments.