Coral Expeditions, welcomed its newest expedition vessel to the fleet with an intimate ceremony in Cairns yesterday.

Sister ship to last year’s Coral Adventurer, she has the same specialized design for rugged extended expeditions to remote areas, the company said.

This new class of expedition ships is designed around the unique Xplorer fast aluminium tender boats, which are launched off the back of the ship to facilitate rapid shore excursions. 

Having arrived in Australian waters in mid-March, the vessel has undergone an extensive fit-out and provisioning in preparation for her maiden voyage from Cairns.

The arrival brings good news to the Cairns tourism industry with the employment of over 90 new ship and shoreside crew.

The maiden voyage, departing Cairns on March 31 2021, will take a small group of like-minded guests to explore Australia’s eastern seaboard, in full compliance with COVID-19 regulations. 

The ship was christened in an official dockside ceremony on Tuesday, March 30, which was attended by guests on the maiden voyage.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, there was no public ceremony. However, Coral Expeditions’ longest-serving employee, Purchasing Manager Gary Wun-Hym had the honor of christening the new vessel with a bottle of champagne.

Wun-Hym has recently marked two decades of service with Coral Expeditions.