Australia’s Coral Expeditions has returned to Vard’s Vung Tao shipyard with an order for a cruiseship only weeks after taking delivery of its first Vietnam-built vessel.
Coral managing director Paul Chacko revealed to the online publication Cruise Industry News that an order has been placed for a second expeditoon ship that will be delivered in December 2020.
To be named Coral Geographer, it will be a sistership of the 5,600-gt Coral Adventurer, which was delivered by Vard to Coral Expeditions last month.
Jeff Gillies, the company’s commercial manager, told TradeWinds last December that the Coral Adventurer project had proven so successful that it would consider placing more orders.
The vessel had been built on budget, and was ready for delivery ahead of schedule. This is in contrast to many other expedition cruise newbuildings that have faced long delays for a variety of problems.
Gillies was unavailable for further comment on the latest order this week, although Chacko was quoted as saying that the company would transition to a modern, all blue-water fleet of expedition ships by 2021.
The expedition cruise operator specialises in trips to remote areas of northern Australia, such as the Kimberley and Cape York, as well as to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Its current fleet comprises of four Australian-flagged ships. Two are 760-gt coastal catamarans, while the 1,800-gt Coral Discoverer (built 2005) and the Coral Adventurer are classed for unrestricted ocean going service.
