Construction has already started on a new Australis expedition vessel at the ASENAV shipyard in Valdivia, Chile. This new ship — which is expected to join the fleet during the final trimester of 2017 — will have a similar hull design and the same number of cabins and decks as the Stella Australis.

The Queen Mary II towers over the Stella Australis as the passenger ships converge off Cape Horn in southern Chile on February 11th. The 2,400-passenger Cunard liner did not land anyone on the fabled cape. But the Australis ship -- which visits Cape Horn more than any other vessel -- was able to put all of its 200 or so passengers safely ashore for a visit to the legendary landmark. Photo by Mauricio Alvarez Ruiz.

  That old saying "One door closes and another one opens" is just as true in the expedition cruise world as back home.

Australis has announced that it's selling Via Australis, the much-love cruise ship that has carried thousands of people through the channels and fjords of southern Chile