Norway-based shipbuilder Vard Holdings Limited (VARD) has secured a contract for the design and construction of an expedition cruise vessel for Australia’s cruise operator Coral Expeditions.
Developed by Vard Design in close cooperation with the owner, 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.
The delivery is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2019 from Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam.
“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, ” Vard’s CEO and Executive Director, Roy Reite said.
Coral Expeditions’s fleet comprises three Australian-flagged ships that include two ocean-going catamarans, Coral Expeditions I and Coral Expeditions II, and the flagship 63m Coral Discoverer.
Headquartered in Cairns, Coral Expeditions provides 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.