AE Expeditions has christened its second purpose-built small ship, the Sylvia Earle.

The vessel’s namesake and godmother Dr Sylvia Earle, a marine biologist and oceanographer, attended the ceremony in Antarctica.

In partnership with AE Expeditions, Earle is leading an Antarctic climate expedition on the ship with the aim of raising awareness of the environmental importance of the Antarctic and to “inspire transformative changes for global net-zero emissions by 2035, from an ocean perspective”, the line said.

“Thank you Aurora for the approach that you use to keep people inspired about the ocean,” said Earle. “This is an experience that I am happy to share with everyone here and I’m looking at Aurora as the voice of the ocean.”

Chief executive Michael Heath said: “We are privileged to have Dr Earle as the namesake for our stunning second purpose-built expedition ship.

“I thank Sylvia for joining us on board to officially christen the ship and be on board for the inaugural Antarctic climate expedition.”