Vard wins contract to build an expedition cruise vessel

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 destinations in the regions of Asia-Pacific. The vessel of VARD 6 01 design has a total length of 93.5m with a beam of 17.2m with accommodation for 120 passengers. The ship’s facilities are geared to daily shore expeditions, lectures and briefings, aiming to provide high standards of comfort. Delivery is scheduled from Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam in the first quarter of 2019. Vard chief executive officer and Executive Director Mr. Roy Reite said that Coral Expeditions is a new customer for Vard. Coral Expeditions operates three Australian-flagged ships that include two oceangoing catamarans, Coral Expeditions I and Coral Expeditions II, and the flagship 63m-long Coral Discoverer. Headquartered in Cairns, Coral Expeditions offers expedition cruises including to the 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.