Another new expedition cruise brand is eyeing start-up operations as Arctic Cruise Line has a ship design ready to go, and hopes to be in service by 2021, according to Gert Brask, CEO.

The serial entrepreneur has a long history in the fishing business, and is taking that knowledge to expedition operations, where he hopes to soon finish a financing package on the first of two 200-guest polar-class vessels.

“We have the drawings and general arrangement done, and now we are talking to shipyards, investors and other partners,” Brask told Cruise Industry News in an exclusive interview. “There are some good yards out there with availabilities.”

Brask explained he was targeting a two-ship order to begin with, but could see his fleet growing quickly, to five ships in a matter of a couple of years.

Offering a premium level product, Brask said his company would do things differently and explore new areas of the Arctic, relying on his life-long experience living in Greenland.

“We can offer sailings eight months of the year in the Arctic,” he added.

“We want to offer so many things and be different from the other operators up there, from heli-sking to fishing.”

Brask said he aims to work with a vessel management firm, and is targeting sourcing a worldwide passenger base. The company currently has offices in Greenland and Denmark.

“The cruise market is growing in Greenland and the Arctic, and passengers are coming from everywhere,” he said.

“I have so many things we will do differently; starting with taking the ship  to places no one else has been.”