Orion Expedition Cruises

Orion Expedition Cruises (OEC) is a former Australian-based luxury expedition cruise line that operated the German-built 103 m, 4000 gross tonne MV Orion in Australasian and Antarctic waters.

Founded by Australian businesswoman Sarina Bratton in early 2004, Orion Expedition Cruises began cruising operations in March 2005 with the repositioning cruise of the MV Orion from Papeete, Tahiti in French Polynesia to Sydney, Australia via the Cook Islands, Samoa, New Caledonia, Fiji and Lord Howe Island. OEC operated Australian-based expedition cruises in areas as diverse as the Antarctic continent to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

On 20 May 2008, Bratton, then Managing Director, announced the purchase of the company by US private equity firm KSL Capital Partners, and Cruise Ferry Master Fund (CFMF), a division of German shipping bank DVB.

On 5 March 2013 it was announced that OEC had been acquired by US-based small ship operator Lindblad Expeditions, which owns five ships and charters a further five and operates cruises to a variety of destinations. CFMF also holds a 60% interest in Lindblad Expeditions.

The concept behind the formation of the operation was to bring a new flavour of locally based luxury expedition-style cruising to Australia.

In 2005 OEC made history by being the first cruise line to take a ship into the newly independent nation of East Timor. Visiting the capital Dili and the nation’s second largest center Baucau, guests of the Orion were some of the first tourists to be part of organized travel in the country. OEC planned to continue and expand their operations in East Timor in 2006, but the company’s plans were suspended when the fledgling nation became unstable just a few weeks before the Orion was due to dock in Dili in June 2006. The Indonesian port of Kupang in West Timor replaced Dili in OEC’s itinerary.

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Wikipedia