{"version":"1.9","identifier":"90a1fc0e-802a-4bd6-8d1d-4b9612611621","language":"en-US","title":"Antarctica21's Magellan Discoverer heads to Punta Arenas for a Nov. 6 christening","layout":{"columns":7,"width":1024,"margin":32,"gutter":20},"componentLayouts":{"text":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"maximumContentWidth":720,"margin":{"top":12,"bottom":12}},"photo":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"margin":{"top":20,"bottom":20}}},"componentTextStyles":{"default":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"textColor":"#171717"},"headline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue-Bold","fontSize":36,"lineHeight":42,"conditional":[{"conditions":{"maxViewportWidth":480},"fontSize":28,"lineHeight":34}]},"intro":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":20,"lineHeight":28,"textColor":"#555555"},"caption":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":19,"textColor":"#666666"},"byline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":20,"textColor":"#666666"},"body":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"paragraphSpacingAfter":14,"linkStyle":{"textColor":"#00704a"}}},"metadata":{"canonicalURL":"https://cruisesfrog.com/news/antarctica21-magellan-discoverer-christening-punta-arenas-nov-6","datePublished":"2026-11-03T13:58:28.563465Z","dateModified":"2026-11-03T13:59:26.237208Z","authors":["Patrick Karsh"],"excerpt":"The 88-guest hybrid-electric polar ship, built by ASENAV in Valdivia, Chile, was handed over on Oct. 30. Its maiden voyage to Southern Chile and Antarctica sails Dec. 15.","thumbnailURL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/90a1fc0e-802a-4bd6-8d1d-4b9612611621/4b6e46842de8e4f6415089dc67c23e90.jpg","keywords":["ship"],"generatorName":"Frog News","generatorVersion":"1.0"},"components":[{"role":"title","text":"Antarctica21's Magellan Discoverer heads to Punta Arenas for a Nov. 6 christening","textStyle":"headline","layout":"text"},{"role":"intro","text":"The 88-guest hybrid-electric polar ship, built by ASENAV in Valdivia, Chile, was handed over on Oct. 30. Its maiden voyage to Southern Chile and Antarctica sails Dec. 15.","textStyle":"intro","layout":"text"},{"role":"byline","text":"By Patrick Karsh · Published November 3, 2026","textStyle":"byline","layout":"text"},{"role":"photo","URL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/90a1fc0e-802a-4bd6-8d1d-4b9612611621/4b6e46842de8e4f6415089dc67c23e90.jpg","caption":"Rendering of Magellan Discoverer in Antarctic waters (image: Antarctica21) · Antarctica21","accessibilityCaption":"Rendering of Magellan Discoverer in Antarctic waters (image: Antarctica21)","layout":"photo"},{"role":"caption","text":"Rendering of Magellan Discoverer in Antarctic waters (image: Antarctica21) · Antarctica21","textStyle":"caption","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"Chile's newest expedition ship is on its way to the end of the world. Antarctica21's Magellan Discoverer has left the shipyard in Valdivia and is heading south to Punta Arenas, where it will be christened on Friday, Nov. 6, [Cruise Industry News reported](https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2026/11/magellan-discoverer-en-route-to-punta-arenas-ahead-of-nov6-christening/). The date is no accident. Nov. 6 is the Day of the Antarctic in Chile.\n\nThe ship's maiden voyage is set for Dec. 15, sailing to Southern Chile and Antarctica.\n\n## From shipyard to service\n\nChilean shipbuilder ASENAV designed and built the ship at its yard in Valdivia. The work took almost three years.\n\nThe ship set sail from the yard on Oct. 26 at 11 a.m., ASENAV said on social media. It headed to Corral, near Valdivia, for its last round of sea trials. An earlier set of trials wrapped up in early October.\n\nAccording to a statement from Antarctica21, the company took over the ship on Oct. 30. The ship was registered and stocked with supplies that same day.\n\n**Magellan Discoverer's path to its first voyage**\n\n* **Early Oct. 2026**: First set of sea trials completed\n* **Oct. 26, 2026**: Ship leaves ASENAV's yard in Valdivia for final trials off Corral\n* **Oct. 30, 2026**: Antarctica21 takes over the ship\n* **Nov. 6, 2026**: Christening in Punta Arenas on Chile's Day of the Antarctic\n* **Dec. 15, 2026**: Maiden voyage to Southern Chile and Antarctica\n\nSource: [Cruise Industry News](https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2026/11/magellan-discoverer-en-route-to-punta-arenas-ahead-of-nov6-christening/)\n\n## A small, hybrid ship for the ice\n\nMagellan Discoverer is a small ship by any measure. It carries 88 guests and measures 5,900 tons. Like most expedition ships, it is built for landings by inflatable boat rather than big port calls.\n\nThe ship uses a hybrid-electric power system. It is also rated Polar Class 6, or PC6, which means it is built to sail in polar waters with some ice during the summer season.\n\nASENAV is proud of the project. \"It is not just another ship,\" the shipbuilder said. \"The Magellan Discoverer is a hybrid-electric polar expedition ship, with polar class PC6, designed 100% by ASENAV and built by Chilean hands in southern Chile.\"\n\n\"For Chile, it demonstrates something that we sometimes forget: that we can design and build world-class ships from Valdivia, with state-of-the-art technology and demanding standards, to operate in one of the most extreme environments on the planet,\" ASENAV added.\n\n## A second ship for Antarctica21\n\nThe new ship joins Magellan Explorer, Antarctica21's first ship, which ASENAV also built in Valdivia. The two will sail Antarctic expeditions side by side.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"},{"role":"htmltable","html":"<table><tr><th>Detail</th><th>Magellan Discoverer</th></tr><tr><td>Operator</td><td>Antarctica21</td></tr><tr><td>Builder</td><td>ASENAV, Valdivia, Chile</td></tr><tr><td>Guests</td><td>88</td></tr><tr><td>Size</td><td>5,900 tons</td></tr><tr><td>Ice class</td><td>PC6</td></tr><tr><td>First voyage</td><td>Dec. 15, 2026</td></tr></table>","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"Antarctica21 is best known for air-cruises. On these trips, guests fly from Punta Arenas to the Antarctic and join the ship there, which skips the often rough Drake Passage crossing by sea. The company runs its own aircraft for these flights, according to its [website](https://www.antarctica21.com/). It also offers sea trips along the Patagonian fjords, the Falklands and South Georgia.\n\n## Why it matters\n\nMagellan Discoverer was designed and built in Chile, close to where it will operate. Punta Arenas, its base, is one of the main gateways to the Antarctic Peninsula.\n\nFor travelers, a second ship means more departures on very small ships. With only 88 guests, it is small even by expedition standards.\n\n## What we don't know yet\n\nAntarctica21 has not said who will serve as the ship's godmother or godfather, or who will attend the christening. We also don't know how many departures the ship will offer this season or how its fares compare with Magellan Explorer's.\n\nFor more ways to reach the White Continent, see our [Antarctica cruise guide](https://cruisesfrog.com/regions/antarctica). We will update this story after the Nov. 6 ceremony.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"}]}