MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Luxurious cruise yacht for 12 pax calls at Punta Arenas and heads for Antarctica

Datcha leaves Punta Arenas on Sunday for Antarctica

A Russian flagged luxury yacht arrived in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, and is heading for Antarctica, after having called at Ensenada, Mexico, and El Callao in Peru.

 La Datcha is 77 meters long, has a beam of 16, is manned by a crew of 23 and has a hull with ice breaking capacity, especially built to cruise in Antarctic waters.

She belongs to Russian banker and tycoon Oleg Tinkov whose idea is to offer top personalized global charter expeditions. La Datcha is under the command of experienced Captain Anton Ralitnvy who once was the skipper of the Magellan Explorer with Antarctica 21.

The luxurious yacht is scheduled to leave on Sunday and called in Punta Arenas for fuel and supplies. No passengers in this maiden trip since they will be boarding directly in Antarctica, where they will be flown to from Punta Arenas.

Datcha has six decks and a variety of amenities, plus jet skis and snow cats. It can carry a helicopter and an auxiliary landing boat for going ashore. It has a twelve guests capacity distributed in double cabins in suite.