The Ross Sea is the southernmost sea on Earth, and one of the most pristine environments in the world, home to an array of fascinating wildlife, historic explorer huts and modern day research stations.
Varied and unique, the Ross Sea landscape is home to the Ross Ice Shelf, the world’s largest body of floating ice, the Transantarctic Mountains, over 4,000 kilometres of coastline and several active volcanoes. Containing the world’s largest marine protected area, the Ross Sea region is roughly 1.5 times the size of the largest national park on land and covers 1.55 million square kilometres, of which 1.12 million square kilometres is fully protected.
At different times of the year, the region is home to more than 30% of the world’s Adelie penguins and around one-quarter of all emperor penguins. Over 50% of the South Pacific Weddell seal population live in the Ross Sea year-round, plus 30% of all Antarctic petrels and half of the world’s Ross Sea killer whales. The biodiversity of benthic habitats is equally fascinating, with rare and vulnerable species such as unique sponges that live for up to 500 years and breeding grounds for Antarctic toothfish, a food source for whales, orcas and seals.
Deriving its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross, who visited the area in 1841, the region has long fascinated explorers pursuing the South Pole. As a result, the Ross Sea region is home to some of the most important relics relating to the discovery of the Antarctic continent. Robert Falcon Scott led the pioneering, but unsuccessful, attempt to reach the pole in 1902. Another unsuccessful attempt was made by Ernest Shackleton in 1908 before it was finally reached by a Norwegian party, led by Roald Amundsen, in December 1911 and a British party, led by Robert Scott on his second attempt in January 1912. These early explorers conducted extensive geographic and scientific exploration, mapping previously undiscovered areas, collecting and analysing plant, animal and rock specimens, and conducting scientific experiments. These activities still continue today in modern-day science research bases.
The dramatic landscape described by early explorers is unchanged, and penguin rookeries described by the early biologists still occupy the same sites. The seals, which are no longer hunted, lie on ice floes seemingly unperturbed. Snow petrel, Wilson's storm petrel, Antarctic Prion and South Polar Skua all continue to breed, in this seemingly inhospitable environment.
This voyage takes you further south than any other sea route to discover the remote Ross Sea. Locked under ice for most of the year, few people visit this unspoiled part of the world. Complimented with the little-known Subantarctic Islands south of New Zealand, this is a once-in-a-lifetime expedition. Find out more about Ross Sea Expedition Voyage
Scheduled to set sail in 2025, the Douglas Mawson is a new state-of-the-art expedition vessel. Named after the legendary Australian geologist and explorer, the ship embodies the intrepid spirit of its namesake. This purpose-built vessel has been designed to push the boundaries of expedition cruising. Find Out More about Douglas Mawson
