Akademik (Avraham) Ioffe was built for research - actually, hydroacoustic research, which means they were spying on American submarines. When I was aboard her she still had a sailing sloop for silent running and equipment placing, as well as two semi-cylindrical "sails" to run silently herself. 86+ or so is the usual passenger complement; it is well built for ice, has a hugely competent and experienced crew. Its sister ship is the Akademik Sergey Vavilov. Both iirc are owned by the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in Moscow. I believe their stats are the same:

Length OA: 117.10m / 384 ft
Beam: 18.20m / 60 ft
Max. draft : 5.90m / 19 ft
Max. speed: 15.0kts.
Cruising speed: 13.5kts .
Endurance: 60 days
Range: 20000 n. mi.
Ice Class KM*L1(1)A2 (Canadian Type B)
Engines: 5,000 kW diesel, twin engine, twin propellor, and 600 kW bow and stern thrusters
Displacement: 6,450 Tons

Check this page out for some exterior shots and interior photos of the Ioffe's facilities, including a typical cabin, and a list of facilities. (They have certainly spiffed it up since we were on her years ago! And they removed the useless "sails".)

Also note: "Recently, the expedition cruise operators Peregrine Shipping and Quark Expeditions were merged by their new owner, the TUI Plc. Group, so from this season on they will be branded as "Quark Expedition" vessels."


Akademik Ioffe


Akademik Ioffe plans

The Professor Multanovskiy of the Akademik Shuleynkin type vessels are significantly smaller, nice for cruising once you are there, but a bit of a cork in a tempest on the Drake crossing. All are polar research vessels built in Finland.

Length: 71,6 metres (236 feet)
Beam: 12,8 metres (42 feet)
Draft: 4,5 metres (15 feet)
Ice class: KM*UL(1)A2
Displacement: 2,140 tonnes
Engines: 2x 1560 hp diesel
Speed: 10 - 12 knots
Passengers: 46
Crew: 32
Ice Class: UL








The ship is one of several in her class (Type Akademik Shuleykin) and includes:
Polar Pioneer IMO: 8010324 (built as Akademik Shuleykin, now converted for tourism)
Spirit of Enderby IMO: 8010350 (built as Professor Khromov, now converted for tourism)
Akademik Shokalskiy IMO: 8010336 (converted for tourism)
Nordsyssel IMO: 8118994 (built as Akademik Gamburtsye) and used by the governor of Svalbard
Akademik Golitsyn IMO: 8119003
Professor Multanovskiy IMO: 8010362 (converted for tourism)