The parent company of Aurora Expeditions, Pacific Travel Partners Inc, has put its money where its mouth is in an effort to acquire Vantage Travel Services, bidding US$1.5 million for the business and handing over a 10% cheque as a counteroffer to the bid made by United Travel.

Vantage Travel filed for bankruptcy a few months ago, and the business’s brand and assets – which includes a reported database of more than 3.6 million customers – have been on the market. United Travel had placed a bid in early July of US$1 million.

The sell-off excludes two very young expedition ships operated by Vantage Traavel, Ocean Explorer and Ocean Odyssey – that were on a long-term charter from SunStone Ships.

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Those vessels feature a similar design and the same Ulstein X-Bow hull that Aurora Expeditions’ ocean ships, Greg Mortimer and Sylvia Earle, have been built with, and come from the same shipping yard. Greg Mortimer and Sylvia Earle have a capacity of 132 passengers, whereas Ocean Explorer (delivered in 2021) and Ocean Odyssey (delivered in October 2022) accommodate 134 guests.

In reference to the potential acquisition, a month ago, Michael Heath, CEO of Aurora Expeditions told LATTE the subject was a delicate matter.