The 120-guest Coral Geographer has officially joined the Coral Expeditions fleet.

A sister ship to Coral Adventurer, it has been designed to “access remote wilderness shores around the globe that are inaccessible to large cruise vessels”, Coral Expeditions said.

The ship features “expansive open deck spaces, relaxing lounge and bars [and] balcony staterooms and suites”, the line added.

Coral Geographer’s maiden voyage departed Cairns today(31 March 2021), to explore Australia’s eastern seaboard.

The ship will sail with fewer than 100 guests on board, as part of Coral Expeditions’ SailSAFE plan, which includes a number of health and safety protocols.

Following this, the ship will join the Coral Expeditions fleet exploring the Kimberley region.

Later in 2021, Coral Geographer will sail a series of voyages to the Abrolhos and West Coast and the wild islands of South Australia.

Coral Expeditions group general manager Mark Fifield said: “We are confident in the ongoing strength of the expedition sector, along with the vessel’s size, her design and her capabilities.

“She represents the perfect balance between being large enough for ocean voyaging yet having a small and intimate ship atmosphere to maximise our guest experience.”

Coral Expeditions resumed operations in October 2020 and the line said it had successfully completed “21 incident-free expedition voyages” exploring the Great Barrier Reef, Tasmania, the wild islands of South Australia and the Abrolhos and Coral Coast of Western Australia.