By
Alex Smith |
One of the last Royal Mail Ships ever built is preparing for a new stage in its career. Constructed in the UK in 1989, St Helena served for decades as the main supply link to the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena from Cape Town in South Africa, carrying both passengers and cargo until it retired from government service in 2018.
The ship was then repurposed as the floating base for the Extreme E electric racing series. As part of this conversion, it received a range of sustainability upgrades, including hybrid-ready propulsion systems and onboard emissions monitoring technology. These updates modernised the ship’s operations – preparing it for the next chapter of its journey.
Terra Nova Expeditions, a company launched in 2025 by Greg Carter, will begin using St Helena for Antarctic itineraries under a long-term charter from 2026. Carter, who previously co-founded the polar travel operator Chimu Adventures, has positioned the ship as central to Terra Nova’s strategy of offering small-scale, environmentally responsible voyages.
“St Helena represents the kind of thinking we admire: reuse over replace, purpose over polish,” Carter said. “It’s a rare breed – a vessel capable of reaching the world’s most remote places while carrying both guests and gear with self-sufficiency and grace. With its onboard cranes, robust build and unique mix of cargo and passenger capabilities, the ship is perfectly suited to the expeditionary model we believe in.”
To prepare the vessel for commercial service in Antarctica, Terra Nova is carrying out a refit. Passenger accommodations and public areas are being upgraded, while motion-reduction technologies are being installed. Among these are retractable stabilisers to improve guest comfort and the See-LEVEL virtual reality system, a headset-based tool that seeks to mitigate seasickness by presenting stabilised imagery of the horizon.
“There’s something special about giving a ship with history and character a renewed sense of purpose,” says Carter. “St Helena embodies what Terra Nova is all about – going further with less, and doing it with meaning.”
St Helena has spent decades sailing the Antarctic seas since its launch in 1989
Passenger capacity is a key element of Terra Nova’s model. St Helena will carry 98 guests maximum on any Antarctic voyage. This ensures maximum time ashore in line with Antarctic guidelines.
While on landings, guests will have access to a range of activities that are standard across the expedition cruise sector and included in the price. These include kayaking, snowshoeing, Zodiac boat excursions and hiking. On certain departures, camping will be offered for up to 30 participants.
Terra Nova is also introducing what it describes as a global first: day sailing in Antarctic waters. During these excursions, passengers will be able to join a second, smaller vessel for sailing experiences in groups of no more than six.
Alongside the focus on passenger experience, environmental considerations have been a central part of Terra Nova’s positioning throughout its development. All voyages will be carbon-offset and each itinerary will incorporate citizen science projects in the ship’s new dedicated science lab and operational space, providing opportunities for data collection in cooperation with scientific partners.
Terra Nova has updated public spaces across St Helena in a recent refit
“With all the buzz about sustainable shipping, repurposing an older vessel is up to ten times more efficient than a newbuild in terms of carbon footprint,” says Carter. “The ship’s journey of reinvention continues under Terra Nova’s stewardship, including the addition of a dedicated science lab and operational space for real-time research in the Southern Ocean.”
The laboratory space will be made available to academic institutions that partner with Terra Nova, and the cruise line will offer berths for early-career researchers during many of its polar voyages. Carter presents this as part of its broader mission to provide an accessible and sustainable journey of discovery.
“This isn’t just a passenger voyage – it’s a platform for knowledge, discovery and impact,” says Carter. “And we’re only just getting started.”
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