Antarctic was a Swedish steamship built in Drammen, Norway, in 1871. She was used on several research expeditions to the Arctic region and to Antarctica from 1893 to 1903. In 1895 the first confirmed landing on the mainland of Antarctica was made from this ship.

Antarctic was a barque with three masts and equipped with a steam engine, built in 1871 at Holmen in Drammen in Norway under the name Cap Nor.

Initially Antarctic was used for seal hunting around Svalbard, Jan Mayen and Greenland. During that period the ship was captained by Gullik Jensen.

In the early 1890s Norwegian ship-owner Svend Foyn wanted to expand his business to the Antarctic Ocean thereby needing capable ships. Foyn then purchased Cap Nor, made extensive repairs and after completion renamed the ship Antarctic. From 1893 the ship was deployed to the Antarctic Ocean for whale hunting.

In 1897 the ship was purchased by Alfred Gabriel Nathorst for his planned expedition to Svalbard. Again extensive repairs were made prior to the expedition in 1898.

In 1899 Nathorst sold the ship to Georg Carl Amdrup for his expedition to East Greenland.

In 1900 Amdrup sold Antarctic to Otto Nordenskjöld who needed the ship for his Antarctic expedition.

In 1893 Antarctic captained by Leonard Kristensen set off on a whaling expedition to Antarctica led by Henrik Johan Bull and financed by Foyn. The ship was equipped with 11 harpoon guns, an arsenal of explosives, 8 whaleboats and 31 men and left Tønsberg on September 20, 1893. The first summer was spent around the Kerguelen Islands with winter camp in Melbourne. On September 28, 1894, the ship went off to sea heading for the Ross Sea.