Growing fleet to add 50 new jobs
CAIRNS-based cruise ship company Coral Expeditions is set to welcome its fourth vessel next year and up to 50 new full-time positions in the Far North.
In a rare occurrence, all three of the company’s ships were docked in Cairns on Monday.
The 72-guest Coral Discoverer set off for a 16-day cruise of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Commercial manager Jeff Gillies said the ship visited Cairns just twice a year and has received a million-dollar refit over the last 20 days including a full engine service, installation of carpets and flooring and an overhaul of the interior water and fuel tanks. He said the company was “going through an expansion phase”.
Coral Expeditions I was at Cairns Wharf undergoing maintenance and Coral Expeditions II docked late on Monday morning as part of its weekly cruise around Far North islands.
“We were founded just shy of 34 years ago and we now have 150 employees and crew,” he said. “In April we will add the Coral Adventurer to our fleet, which is around the same size as the Discoverer and that will bring an additional 50 jobs to the Cairns area.
“Overall, cruising as a sector has experience about 20 per cent growth over the past few years and small ship expedition cruising is enjoying similar rates of growth.
“We are always full and we have $20 million worth of forward bookings for the Coral Adventurer.
“There is a lot of evidence the market is only going to continue to grow.”
Mr Gillies said smaller passenger numbers and a tender to navigate smaller river systems which could carry all on board, were part of Coral Expeditions’ selling point.
“We make our name by making sure you don’t have to wait in line for anything,” he said.
In 2020, Coral Expeditions will host a 35th Anniversary Circumnavigation of Australia.