Pioneers of cruising in Burma,
Pandaw River Expeditions is
planning the construction of
two “ultra shallow draft” ships.
The new river vessels, the Kindat and the
Kalaw, will have a special design that enables
passage in the region’s low waters.
With a draft of less than one metre, the
20-cabin ships are intended to navigate
channels impossible for other vessels.
Pandaw founder Paul Strachan said: “It is
wonderful to be building again in Burma where
we started nearly 20 years ago.
“There is a lot of ship building know-how
there, and we can achieve the ultra shallow
drafts so essential for the extreme low water
conditions now prevailing.”
Last year, for three months at the peak of
high season, ships of more than one metre
draft could not pass from Pagan to Mandalay.
“At Pandaw, we cannot let this happen,”
Strachan said.
Sinmalike shipyard, in Yangoon, has been
awarded the contract to build the K-plus class
vessels of 56 meters length with 20 deluxe
staterooms.
As exact replicas of the Irrawaddy Flotilla
Company ships of the 1920s, the Kindat and
the Kalaw will be finished in teak and brass,
with spacious promenade decks.
Both ships are scheduled to operate on the
new Mandalay Pagan Packet service, starting
July 2014, alongside Pandaw’s Indochina &
Orient.
Offered weekly, the Mandalay Pagan Packet
is a standalone river cruise in and out of
Mandalay International Airport, requiring no
domestic flights.
These newbuilds will bring the Irrawaddy
Flotilla up to seven vessels and the total
Pandaw fleet up to 12 ships.
For details, see www.pandaw.com.
