Arctic Fuel Surcharge Announced
(Darien, CT) February 20, 2008 – It has been hard to miss the many news stories regarding the dramatic increase in fuel prices. Along with gas and oil, the price of marine fuel continues to reach historic highs. As we arrange fuel deliveries for our ships for the 2008 Arctic expedition season, the full impact of these increases can only now be ascertained.
A Significant Portion of Operating Costs
Fuel
Fuel represents a significant portion of the operating costs of our voyages. Our ships load fuel in remote locations, where there are few suppliers. and these suppliers are unable to contract fuel rates in advance. Because of this, we cannot hedge against fuel increases. Our company has some contingencies in place for unforeseen situations such as this, and we try to anticipate changes when setting our prices. However, what we have today is an extraordinary case. While we can absorb some of the price increase, we cannot cover the full amount without affecting the experience of our travelers in the Arctic.
Effective Dates
Given this situation, we are initiating a fuel surcharge for the coming Arctic 2008 season. This surcharge will affect all passengers aboard Kapitan Khlebnikov, Akademik Ioffe, Akademik Shokalskiy and Akademik Sergey Vavilov on departures from June to September 2008.
The Details
Amount Assessed: $22 per person per night aboard ship.
The surcharge amount is assessed at US $22 per person, per night aboard. For example: Spitsbergen Explorer, June 9-20, 2008 – 12 day expedition, with 11 nights aboard the ship @ $22 per night = $242 per person fuel surcharge.
The fuel surcharge will be added to your final invoice.
Surcharges will be applied to the final invoices of all passengers that are booked to date, and on all future bookings.
How did we determine the amount?
We have calculated the overall expected cost increase based on the fuel prices suppliers are currently quoting. While we are absorbing a portion of this cost increase, we have determined that the fuel surcharge is the minimum required in order to ensure a quality experience on board. We have been able to maintain the surcharge amount at this level by sharing this portion of the increase equally among all departures.