(Singapore,) — For the first time in its nearly 20-year history, a female captain is at the helm of a Silversea ship.

Ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises, which operates a fleet of six ships, has promoted Margrith Ettlin to the position of captain. A Swiss national with extensive maritime experience in remote regions, including the Arctic and Antarctica, Captain Ettlin assumed control of the 132-guest expedition ship Silver Explorer on August 7 in Reykjavik. Her first tour of duty as captain will extend into October.

"We're very pleased and proud to extend this promotion to Captain Ettlin," said Steve Odell, Silversea's President for Europe and Asia-Pacific. "Although we're not the first cruise company to have a female captain, we hope Captain Ettlin's achievement will inspire other women to pursue careers at sea."

Prior to joining Silversea as a staff captain in March 2010, Captain Ettlin worked for Germany's F. Laeisz shipping group. Her maritime career also includes nearly nine years as a staff captain with the German shipping company Hapag Lloyd.

—Ends—

About Silversea Cruises

Silversea Cruises, which is chaired by Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, is recognized as an innovator in the luxury cruise line industry, offering guests large-ship amenities aboard its intimate, all-suite vessels: Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper and Silver Spirit - all designed to offer an atmosphere of conviviality and casual elegance. With the inclusion of the expedition ships Silver Explorer and Silver Galapagos (debuting late 2013), Silversea Cruises' itineraries encompass all seven continents and feature worldwide luxury cruises to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, both polar regions and over 500 fascinating destinations in between.

In the U.S., Silversea has been voted "World's Best" by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler (nine times) and Travel + Leisure (seven times), and awarded "Best Luxury Cruise Line" by CruiseReport.com (2012) and "Best Small Ship Cruise Line" by Global Traveler (2013). International awards include "Five Star Diamond Award" from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences (2013); "Best Small Ship Cruise Line" in the Readers' Choice survey conducted by Britain's Condé Nast Traveller magazine (2012); "Best Luxury Cruise Line" by Australia's Cruise Passenger magazine (2012); "Best Small Luxury Cruise Line" by China's Travel + Leisure (2012); and "Best Luxury Cruise Company" according to the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association (2012).

# # #

Follow Silversea on Twitter, Facebook and the Silversea Blog.

For reservation enquiries with Silversea please call toll free numbers: Hong Kong (800 908 793) and Singapore (800 616 7056) or +61 2 9255 0600 or visit www.silversea.com.

Distributed on behalf of Silversea Cruises by Grebstad Hicks Communications.

Media Contact

For further info or images please contact:

SINGAPORE / SE ASIA

Christina Aureus / Nicole Tia

Email:  christina.aureus@ghcasia.com / nicole.tia@ghcasia.com

Tel: (65) 6438 4024

HONG KONG / CHINA / TAIWAN

Michelle Miu / Rosetta Hon

Email: michelle.miu@ghcasia.com / rosetta.hon@ghcasia.com

Tel: (852) 2810 0532