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EXPEDITION MARKET
MYSTIC CRUISES
Building Expedition Ships
Portuguese entrepreneur Mario Ferreira is at the helm of
Mystic Invest, overseeing more than 30 companies, includ-
ing an ambitious expansion into the niche and expedition
ocean cruise market.
Ferreira’s 200-passenger World Explorer will join the
global cruise fleet this November, chartered to Quark for
an Antarctica season, and then operating for Nicko Cruises,
which Ferreira owns, in Europe next summer.
Mario Ferreira, president of Mystic Invest
Ferreira (left) on
a visit to his new
ocean ship
“The ship is unique, it’s the first (ocean) ship for us,” Fer- for Nicko and Douro Azul, while also overseeing charters
reira said. In Antarctica, size will be limited to 180 guests,
with the additional capacity used for lecturers and the ex-
pedition team. “What we are aiming to do is provide a lot
of space and comfort. Being a small ship, we have paid
careful attention to noise, vibration and stability.”
38 Cruise Industry News: 2018 Expedition Market Report
“I need to build more ships. That is the
situation.”
Among the big investment items has been a complex soft-
ware system to assist in Drake Passage transits, optimizing
the route against weather.
“I was (in Antarctica) last season. We had incredible seas
for two days on the way down, and on the way back it was
flat as a lake,” Ferreira told Cruise Industry News. “We need
to make sure our guests are nice and comfortable as not ev-
eryone likes the extreme ride.”
Significant resources have been put into energy efficiency.
So-called propulsion jet pumps on the stern will be used for
dynamic positioning, and will also let the ship maneuver at 4
to 5 knots, with the main engines off.
Strong Base
For Ferreira, the $85 million project is a personal passion.
“Personally I like to build ships. I love to build ships,” he
said. “We are also running our own ships.”
That self-run fleet is sizable, with operations on the rivers
for other brands.
For Mystic, Thomas Carlson has been recruited as senior
vice president of operations, bringing a long cruise track re-
cord.
Ferreira has also hired not one, but three captains for the
World Explorer, all bringing specific regional knowledge, in-
cluding a Russian ice captain for Antarctica.
With Nicko opening sales on the World Explorer last Oc-
tober for summer 2019, Ferreira called the responsive tre-
mendous.
“We are selling through Nicko as the brand already exists,
and the customer base is strong,” he said.
Nicko, sourcing German guests, offers a premium experi-
ence. Mystic bought the brand in 2015 following financial
turmoil and turned it around. Today the company operates
21 riverboats across Europe, Africa and Asia, and is now
expanding into the ocean business.
Mystic
Ferreira envisions a future with Mystic Cruises as its own
brand.
“I would like to have a brand and start selling Mystic
Cruises, but I don’t have the ships or beds yet,” he said. “I