A court in the French city of Nantes has ordered the commencement of liquidation proceedings against local expedition cruise company Exploris just three years after it began operations.
Exploris was established in 2022 by Philippe Videau, one of the co-founders of French cruise company Ponant. Operations had originally been scheduled to commence in late 2023 with all itineraries being served by one ship, the 1984-built Silver Explorer, since renamed Exploris One.
Exploris was able to attract only around 1,000 passengers in 2024 and 2,500 in the current year.
The company and a Canadian operator had entered into an agreement for the charter of Exploris One for three years beginning in 2026. However, the deal was ultimately cancelled.
Exploris recently issued a statement saying that the cancellation of the charter, "has severely jeopardised the continuation of our activities," and that the "difficult economic climate" has impeded its operations in French-speaking markets, "despite the unanimously recognised quality of our expedition cruise product."
The judicial administration process for Exploris concluded late last month, and liquidation will commence in the coming days. The liquidation will entail the sale of all of the company's assets including Exploris One.