VARD announced on Monday a contract for the design and construction of one expedition cruise vessel for Coral Expeditions of Australia.
Newly developed by Vard Design in Norway in close cooperation with the customer, the vessel is specially designed for small ship expedition cruises to remote and exotic destinations in the regions of Asia-Pacific. The vessel of VARD 6 01 design, measuring a total length of 93.5 meters with a beam of 17.2 meters, will have a guest accommodation capacity of 120. True to the Coral Expeditions business concept, the ship environment is geared for daily shore expeditions, lectures and briefings, with high standards of comfort and care. Delivery is scheduled from Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam in 1Q 2019.
CEO and Executive Director Mr. Roy Reite says, “I would like to welcome Coral Expeditions to VARD. We are honored to be chosen as the preferred designer and shipbuilder for their new expedition cruise vessel. VARD’s highly experienced shipbuilders and our specialized subsidiaries in Norway and abroad look forward to working together with Coral’s team.”
With a 34 year history of innovation, Coral Expeditions is recognized as Australia’s longest established and most awarded expedition cruise operator. Starting with environmentally-sensitive cruises on the Great Barrier Reef, the fleet has grown to three Australian-flagged ships that include two oceangoing catamarans, Coral Expeditions I and Coral Expeditions II, and the flagship 63m Coral Discoverer.Headquartered in Cairns, Coral Expeditions offers expedition cruises to largely unseen parts of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, the Kimberley region, Cape York and Arnhem Land, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Islands of the South Pacific, Tasmania, and South East Asia.
Source: VARD