Landing on Sea Ice

After experiencing the thrill of your expedition ship masterfully navigating through sea ice, you may also land directly on it. This is possible due to the ice-strengthened hulls on many expedition ships (look for 1A class ice-class or ice-breaking hulls when booking). 

It is essential to know that landing on ice should always be controlled and carefully managed under strict conditions. Such landings will be led by highly experienced guides and expedition staff who prioritise safety and environmental stewardship while providing passengers a unique opportunity to explore and learn about the polar environment.

Landing directly onto sea ice during an expedition cruise is generally not a common practice, mainly due to safety Concerns: Sea ice can be unpredictable, with variations in thickness, stability, and integrity. Landing directly onto sea ice poses significant safety risks for passengers and crew, including the potential for ice fractures, unstable surfaces, and unexpected hazards hidden beneath the surface. For safety reasons, your Captain and Expedition Leader will only attempt a landing if conditions are perfect.  

Environmental considerations are also equally critical: Landing on sea ice can have ecological impacts, including disturbance to wildlife and disruption of delicate ice formations. In polar regions, where ecosystems are particularly vulnerable, minimising human impact and respecting the environment is always a priority. For this reason, we encourage you to ask the expedition team about a planned landing, how they mitigate such concerns, and the additional benefits of such landings, which may range from citizen science projects. Sea ice gathering is a good example, where participants collect ice samples directly from their landing site to aid in scientific research. 

These samples can provide valuable information about climate history and environmental changes, particularly their effects. The process typically involves using tools to extract cores of ice, which are then analysed, looking for parameters like gas bubbles or isotopic composition. The data is then sent off for actual research, contributing to data collection that can help scientists understand long-term environmental trends. Such analysis may also look for microplastics locked away on sea ice formations that, along with climate change, pose the greatest existential threat to our oceans, marine life, and coastal communities.

This is a passenger-shot video of an expedition ship landing its guests directly onto sea ice on the Svalbard  Archipelago.

Alongside the chance of seeing a Polar Bear, this is rated as the best experience possible within the Arctic on expedition cruises.