Arctic at anchor in a calm bay, seen from the bow quarter, a tender tied up at the stern and a green hillside behind
Arctic P, now named Arctic, at anchor in a sheltered bay: the 1969 tug hull with its high bow and two radar masts.

Arctic P

A Bremerhaven salvage tug that once towed a stranded expedition ship out of Antarctica, converted for one family and taken further south by sea than any other vessel had gone, now chartered under the name Arctic.

87.57 m
Length overall
17,000 nm
Range at 12 kn
E3
Ice class as built (GL)
1
Helipad

In short

Arctic P was built in 1969 by Schichau Unterweser in Bremerhaven as an ocean-going salvage tug with a Germanischer Lloyd ice class, and in 1972, still a tug, she rescued the expedition ship Lindblad Explorer after it ran aground in Antarctica (Boat International, Boat International). The Packer family bought her in 1993 and had her converted into a private yacht in Malta, keeping the steel hull with plating 50 mm thick at the bow (Boat International, Boat International, Boat International). Her 1.4 million litres of fuel give a range that Boat International puts at 17,000 nautical miles at 12 knots, and on a Ross Sea voyage of more than 5,000 nautical miles from Tasmania she reached the Bay of Whales, 677 nautical miles from the South Pole, a record for the furthest south by a vessel (Boat International, Boat International). Since August 2025 she has been chartered under the name Arctic through Ahoy Club, which offers her for winter trips in northern Norway (Boat International, Ahoy Club).

Videos

Three tours from YouTube, most viewed first.

Explore NORWAY'S WINTER FJORDS Onboard the 88m EXPEDITION YACHT ARCTICSuperYacht Times · 20 Jan 2026 · 16,763 viewsWatch on YouTube
ARCTIC: The Rebirth of a True Explorer Yacht | Ahoy ClubAhoy Club · 26 Oct 2025 · 11,106 viewsWatch on YouTube
Inside The GUINNESS WORLD RECORD Expedition Yacht ARCTIC | With Cap Paul CrierieSuperYacht Times · 12 Feb 2026 · 7,845 viewsWatch on YouTube

Photos

Arctic seen from directly above, turning at speed with a curving white wake; teak decks, a small blue pool aft, a tender and jet skis alongside
From above, under way
Arctic under way at speed in deep blue water, seen from the starboard side: black hull, white stepped superstructure, two black masts carrying radar domes, and steep green peaks behind
Under way: the tug hull and two radar masts
Arctic P at anchor off a wooded hillside with houses: the high black tug bow on the right, white superstructure and two tall black masts with radar domes
The salvage-tug profile, at anchor
Arctic at anchor with an inflatable water slide running down her side and tenders and toys in the water around her
Water slide and tenders out at anchor
Three jet skis speeding past the black bow of Arctic, her name in white letters on the hull
Jet skis off the bow
Aft sun deck of Arctic from above: teak deck, navy loungers with red cushions and the top of a water slide
Aft sun deck from above
A whale's tail rising from the water in the foreground, with Arctic at anchor below steep green mountains and two paddleboarders nearby
A whale surfaces near the yacht at anchor
A round hot tub set into the teak deck with guests in it, next to a glass-sided pool
Hot tub set into the deck
Two officers at the bridge console of Arctic, with engine controls, screens and a chart table, and a sofa at the back of the wheelhouse
Wheelhouse
Dive room with racks of buoyancy jackets and wetsuits, scuba cylinders in wall racks and underwater scooters on the floor
Dive centre
Wood-panelled saloon with a sofa, a red ottoman, bookshelves and a card table
Saloon and library
Guests on deep sofas and floor cushions in a darkened cinema room
Cinema

Further reading

Independent coverage we found. We link to it rather than rewrite it.

Specifications

Length overall
87.57 m 87.58 m in SuperYacht Times
Beam
14.78 m 14.3 m in SuperYacht Times
Draught
6.3 m maximum 7.4 m maximum in Boat International's directory; 7.2 m in her charter agent's listing; about 7 m, according to her captain (2022)
Gross tonnage
2,610
Builder
Schichau Unterweser, Bremerhaven, Germany, as an ocean-going salvage tug; she and her identical sister Oceanic were described at launch as the strongest and largest all-weather salvage tugs in existence
Year built
1969 1970 in Lloyd's Register's Ships in Class, in a 2015 owner's account in Boat International and in VesselFinder
Conversion
Bought by the Packer family in 1993 and converted into a private yacht in Malta in 1994–95 1993–1995 at Malta Shipyards in SuperYacht Times; Boat International (2022, 2025) dates the Packer ownership and conversion to 1994
Design
Exterior by Kusch Yachts; interior by Oliver Design; naval architecture by Schichau Unterweser. Boat International (2025) and its directory credit the interior to C. Kidston and A. Sassoon
Hull and superstructure
Steel hull and steel superstructure; plating 50 mm thick on the bow and 30 mm on the ice line (data 2015)
Ice class
Built with a Germanischer Lloyd ice class, notation GL 100 A4 E3 (data 2015); E3 is equivalent to Finnish-Swedish ice class IA, designed for level ice up to 0.8 m thick with icebreaker assistance when necessary. Boat International reported in 2015 that fitting stabilisers had voided the ice class; her charter agent describes the hull as ice-class certified (2026). Current notation not published
Ice performance
Made a steady 6 kn through 40–50 cm of fast ice in Bourgeois Fjord, Antarctic Peninsula (data 2015)
Classification
Lloyd's Register, in class as Arctic (October 2026)
Propulsion
Two Deutz RBV 12M 640 diesel engines, 9,706 kW in total
Speed
18 kn maximum; 15 kn cruising 12 kn cruising in her charter agent's listing; 17 kn cruising in SuperYacht Times; 22 kn maximum and 20 kn cruising in Palumbo Superyachts (2020)
Range
17,000 nm at 12 kn 10,000 nm in SuperYacht Times (2021); 20,000 nm in SuperYacht Times' yacht data and nearly 20,000 nm in Palumbo Superyachts (2020), speed not given
Endurance
Not published in days; SuperYacht Times (2021) describes enough storage to keep her autonomous for weeks at a time
Fuel capacity
1,400,000 litres
Helicopter
One multi-purpose helipad, also used as a sun deck, dance floor and outdoor dining area; no hangar reported; certification and largest helicopter not published
Tenders
Seven tenders listed by her charter agent, including a 14 m Endeavour 42, a 13 m custom tender, a 12 m Donzi, a 10 m Riva, a Brigg 55, a Vanguard DR760 and a Sea-Doo Challenger, plus expedition landing craft. For her first Antarctic voyage 11 jet skis, three of her four 12 m tenders and both 9 m tenders were put ashore, and two Zodiacs taken on board (data 2015)
Submersible
None named; Boat International (2025) and her charter agent list space for ROVs or submersibles among her toys
Support vessel
None reported
Diving
Dive centre with scuba equipment and an onboard instructor
Guests
12 in 7 suites, including a 90 m² owner's suite 6 staterooms in Boat International's directory
Crew
28 25 in Boat International's directory and SuperYacht Times' yacht data
On board
Beach club with a pool whose floor adjusts to 2 m depth, a Jacuzzi and a dining table that stow flush with the deck; 4D cinema; gym; library; massage room; open top deck known as Monkey Island
Refits
Navantia, Cartagena, 2015, seven months: new beach club with pool, Jacuzzi and dining table, bridge and engine control room revamped, galley updated, more fuel-efficient propellers. Palumbo Superyachts, Malta, year-long rebuild finished in 2020 to commercial standards for charter, including a new air-conditioning system. Four major refits by 2022
History as a tug
In 1972 she rescued the expedition ship Lindblad Explorer, aground at Plaza Point, Antarctica, and towed her to Buenos Aires; the ship then went on to Kristiansand, Norway, for repairs
Voyages reported
Antarctic Peninsula via the Falklands and South Georgia, 21 days, reaching 67.50° S in Bourgeois Fjord (2013); Ross Sea from Tasmania via Macquarie Island, McMurdo Sound, Scott's and Shackleton's huts, the Bay of Whales and Cape Adare to Dunedin, more than 5,000 nm (reported March 2015); Icy Bay and Cold Bay, Alaska; Galápagos to Panama; Panama Canal; French Polynesia (2021–22); northern Norway (2025). Boat International says she has circumnavigated the globe several times
Record
78°43′ S, 163°42′ W in the Bay of Whales, Ross Sea: 677 nm from the South Pole, reported as a Guinness World Record for the furthest south reached by a vessel
Charter
Available for charter; central agent Ahoy Club since August 2025, previously Y.CO. Ahoy Club lists her for the Nordics, with winter charters in northern Norway
Name
Now named Arctic, the name she had as a tug; Boat International and SuperYacht Times also list Arctic Research among her previous names
Owner
Reported to be owned by Gretel Packer (Boat International, January 2024), who took over from her brother James Packer in 2018; her father Kerry Packer bought the tug. Registered owner: Magenta Investments (Lloyd's Register, October 2026)
For sale
Not listed for sale (October 2026)
Flag
Bahamas

Where is she now

Live AIS position on:

MarineTrafficVesselFinder

IMO 1006207 · MMSI 308753000

Questions

What makes Arctic P an explorer yacht?
She is a converted ocean-going salvage tug of 1969 with a steel hull plated 50 mm thick at the bow and 1.4 million litres of fuel (Boat International). She carries seven tenders including expedition landing craft, has a helipad and a dive centre, and has been to both Antarctica and Alaska (Ahoy Club, Boat International).
How far can Arctic P go without refuelling?
Boat International gives a range of 17,000 nautical miles at 12 knots (Boat International). Other figures exist: SuperYacht Times wrote 10,000 nautical miles in 2021, and the refit yard Palumbo reported nearly 20,000 (SuperYacht Times, Palumbo Superyachts). On her Ross Sea voyage she kept her engines running for more than 5,000 nautical miles (Boat International).
Does Arctic P have an ice class?
A 2015 owner's account gives her hull a Germanischer Lloyd ice class, GL 100 A4 E3 (Boat International); the Finnish maritime authority treats E3 as equivalent to Finnish-Swedish class IA (Traficom). Boat International reported the same year that fitting stabilisers had voided it (Boat International). Her charter agent now describes the hull as ice-class certified, but the current notation has not been published (Ahoy Club).
How far south has Arctic P been?
On a Ross Sea voyage reported in 2015 she reached 78°43′ S in the Bay of Whales, 677 nautical miles from the South Pole, a record for the furthest south reached by a vessel (Boat International). Boat International describes it as a Guinness World Record (Boat International).
Can you charter Arctic P?
Yes. Under the name Arctic she has been offered for charter through Ahoy Club since August 2025, for 12 guests in seven suites (Boat International). Ahoy Club lists her for the Nordics, including winter trips in northern Norway (Ahoy Club).
Who owns Arctic P?
She is reported to be owned by Gretel Packer, who took over from her brother James Packer in 2018 (Boat International). Her father Kerry Packer bought and converted the tug in the 1990s (Boat International); the family's own 2015 account dates the purchase to 1993 (Boat International).

Compare with

Explorer yachts of a similar type and length in this guide.

Legend yacht

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Olivia O yacht

Olivia O

88.5 m Ulstein X-Bow explorer yacht, delivered 2020

Yersin yacht

Yersin

A science ship with superyacht cabins, built by a French commercial yard and now sailing as Albatros

Sources (15)
  1. Palumbo Superyachts, No ordinary moments aboard (archived copy, 13 Jan 2025) 16 Oct 2020
  2. Lloyd's Register, Ships in Class: ARCTIC (IMO 1006207)
  3. Traficom, Ice class regulations: equivalence of ice classes (TRAFICOM/281964/03.04.01.00/2023) 18 Dec 2024
  4. Traficom, Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Regulations 2021 1 Jul 2021
  5. Ahoy Club, Arctic charter listing
  6. Boat International, Superyacht Directory: Arctic P
  7. Boat International, Superyacht Arctic's owner on planning the perfect voyage to Antarctica 28 Jan 2015
  8. Boat International, Arctic P and the furthest voyage south ever undertaken 18 Mar 2015
  9. Boat International, Arctic P refitted with hidden pool and hot tub 18 Jun 2015
  10. Boat International, Inside the adventures of the 87m explorer Arctic P 12 Sep 2022
  11. Boat International, Fact file: five things you didn't know about converted explorer yacht Arctic P 16 Jan 2024
  12. Boat International, World's largest explorer yacht for charter changes CA 19 Aug 2025
  13. SuperYacht Times, Arctic P (yacht page)
  14. SuperYacht Times, Unveiled for the first time: Onboard the 88m conversion superyacht Arctic P 3 Dec 2021
  15. VesselFinder, ARCTIC (IMO 1006207)