Douglas Mawson was delivered to SunStone Ships on September 9, 2025, at the CMHI Haimen shipyard. This completed the seven-ship Infinity-class series: Greg Mortimer, Ocean Victory, Ocean Explorer, Sylvia Earle, Ocean Odyssey, Ocean Albatros and now Douglas Mawson. MAKINEN delivered the interiors for all seven vessels as full visual turnkey projects, including passenger cabins, suites, restaurants, lounges, shops, crew areas, spa areas, sun deck and more.
Since 2018, MAKINEN has worked continuously in the expedition vessel newbuilding market, building a network and operating model that allows us to deliver predictable quality, cost efficiency and seamless project management for any expedition vessel in the world.
We have now published a new interior walkthrough video and a photo selection showing the completed interiors of Douglas Mawson. As part of the release, we spoke with Timo Mouru, Director of Newbuilding, who has been involved in the project series from the beginning and led MAKINEN’s Newbuilding team on site for the last six vessels.
Interview with Timo Mouru, Director of Newbuilding
How did the construction of the seventh vessel progress?
“The project went well from the start. The earlier ships in the series had some tougher phases, and that is where most of the fine-tuning of our ways of working happened. By the time we reached the seventh vessel, things were running in a steady rhythm. That gave us room to put detailed focus on further quality development. Our aim was to make this last vessel the best one we delivered in the series, and I am confident we succeeded in that.”
How would you summarize the seven-vessel series from MAKINEN’s perspective?
“It has been a valuable period of work for us. We have developed both as a team and as an organization because the seven vessels followed one another without long breaks. The experience we gained along the way, together with the wider know-how and established supplier network, puts MAKINEN in a strong position when new expedition vessel interiors are planned. Expedition vessels are not standard cruise ships. They operate in demanding and remote conditions, and MAKINEN understands the concept, the requirements and how to build interiors that meet them. In my estimate, during the past few years, we have delivered the largest amount of expedition-vessel interior square meters in the world, which says a lot about the scale and consistency we have been able to maintain.”
What are your thoughts now that the series is complete?
“Finishing the seventh vessel closes a long chapter, and of course that brings a bit of nostalgia. In project work everything has its start and finish, even when the project is one you have enjoyed. What stands out to me is the scale of what we have accomplished together. We are probably the only individual contractor in the world who has delivered this amount of expedition-vessel interior square meters. That is the result of years of steady work and the commitment people have shown from project to project. My thanks go to everyone who has been part of this series, whether for a short phase or from the very beginning. Every contribution mattered, and the results speak for themselves.”
Contact: Director of Newbuilding, Timo Mouru timo.mouru@ismakinen.com
