Malizia Explorer

07/07/2026

Blue hour 💙

07/07/2026

And with that, the 2026 season comes to an end… ahh no, that was just a few weeks, however it definitely felt like much more!

So many wonderful moments, discussions, future plans, and events packed into such a short period of time. Kiel Week and Hamburg Sustainability Week are now behind us, and for a change, our vessel wasn’t actively engaged in scientific research, but instead served as a place where people from all walks of life, professions, and backgrounds came together, united by a shared commitment to the ocean, science, and climate action.

Acting as a platform for dialogue, the vessel was filled with sailing sessions that sparked discussions with all kinds of people, alongside visits on board by guests, some of whom you’ll surely recognise, but also by children and young adults who are either just becoming aware of the need for ocean science and climate action, or are already deeply engaged in shaping its future.

And now, where are we? Back in Kiel and ready for our upcoming scientific mission with GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel in the Baltic!

01/07/2026

The Malizia Explorer is a research and outreach vessel, meaning that she does not just support scientific research, but also aims to connect science with society and bring it to the people who can use it. Besides engaging with policymakers and changemakers, a very important group we speak to is the next generation: children and young people.

One way we at Team Malizia do this is through our educational programme, My Ocean Challenge, with which we have already reached over 135,000 children worldwide since its founding. Now, with the Malizia Explorer, we are able to bring young adults and the decision-makers of tomorrow even closer to the issues that matter.

This happens through online events during our expeditions, as well as live, in-person encounters when we are docked somewhere…such as our educational event with local schoolchildren in Finkenwerder, Hamburg last Thursday!

19/06/2026

Today, on the 19th of June 2026, our next mission, which will take us into the Baltic Sea, was officially announced in front of GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel alongside Prof. Dr. Katja Matthes and Boris Herrmann.

As you know, we are currently in Kiel, Germany with our Malizia Explorer science and outreach vessel. This was the perfect opportunity to announce our upcoming Baltic Sea research mission, which will take place in July 2026 with the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel aboard the Malizia Explorer. 🌊⛵

The mission will focus on studying seagrass meadows and phytoplankton, which are two key components of the Baltic marine ecosystem, and their role in carbon storage, biodiversity and overall ocean health. Through this research, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of the Baltic Sea and the challenges it faces from climate change and other human impacts.

Find out more on our website.
We are excited for the mission to commence at the beginning of July!

10/06/2026

🌊 A rescue mission in the middle of the Atlantic.

While returning from Antarctica, our Malizia Explorer diverted course to recover Redwing, an autonomous Ocean glider that had spent four months drifting at sea after sustaining damage during an ambitious mission to circumnavigate the globe.

Working together with OceanOPS, Teledyne Webb Research, scientists, modellers, and Ocean observing experts around the world, our crew successfully located and recovered the glider on the 19th of May 2026.

This recovery is a wonderful example of what can be achieved through international collaboration and opportunity in Ocean science. From students and researchers to navigators and sailors, people across continents came together to give the Redwing glider a second chance to continue its extraordinary journey and advance Ocean observation .

Head over to our website to read more about it… we promise the story won’t disappoint. From unexpected challenges at sea to remarkable coordination ashore, it’s a true Ocean science adventure ready for a movie :)

What a great example of being in the right place at the right time and of simply saying yes when Ocean science calls!

03/06/2026

🎉 Happy Birthday to us! 🎉

One year ago, the Malizia Explorer began her journey as a scientific research and outreach vessel. Today, she’s back home in Lorient after an extraordinary first year at sea and is already preparing to embark on her second.

While she enjoys a brief stay in dry dock for a quick refit, we’re taking the opportunity to look back on an incredible year of exploration, science, and collaboration. It’s hard to believe how much was achieved in just twelve months.

None of it would have been possible without the incredible scientists, partners, crew, and supporters who joined us along the way. Thank you for being part of this journey!

Here’s to a remarkable first year and to the adventures, discoveries, and impact still to come. 💙🌊

📸 by Flore Hartout / Team Malizia , Marie Lefloch / Team Malizia, Marin Le Roux / PolaRYSE / Team Malizia, Franck Gazzola / Under The Pole, Andreas Lindlahr / Team Malizia, Edson Silva Delgado

03/06/2026

22/05/2026

Life at sea holds so much beauty and wonder. 🌊💙⛵️
We get to witness sunrises and sunsets that feel endless, see dolphins jump and whales feed, and watch the Ocean transform when night falls and bioluminescence suddenly appears.

This place gives us so much: livelihoods, stability, wonder, perspective.
And every time we sail, research, observe, or simply exist out there, the same feeling returns: we depend on the Ocean far more than it depends on us. That’s why protecting it can’t be a small ambition, but instead it takes all of us 💙

📸 Marin Le Roux / PolaRYSE / Team Malizia

24/04/2026

22/04/2026

“Now that the mission in Antarctica has concluded, what’s next?
The mission isn’t complete until the results are published.
We interacted with the environment, so even if we minimized our impact, we still disturbed it. I feel a moral obligation to publish our findings and make them available to scientists, managers, policymakers, and the public.
Until that happens, I feel I have a debt to this place.”

At the beginning of this year, Spanish researcher Francisco Otero Ferrer joined the Malizia Explorer for a joint mission with UNDER THE POLE, exploring Marine Animal Forests at depths of up to 130m in the icy waters of Antarctica.

For those of us onboard, Fran quickly became a walking “fascination station” - always ready to dive into questions about sponges, mesophotic ecosystems, or Antarctic gigantism, and doing so with contagious enthusiasm.
To capture some of these insights, not only into the deep sea, but also into life and conversations onboard, we recorded a chat on our way back from Antarctica, just as we entered the Beagle Channel and slowly returned to “normality.”

A short excerpt from that conversation is now available to read on our website: https://www.malizia-explorer.com/news/looks-like-the-caribbean-but-it-was-antarctica-marine-animal-forests