True North Adventure Cruises will introduce a second ship in 2023, TRUE NORTH II, providing a significant boost in capacity for the Australian company.
The long-time, one-ship-only operator will return TRUE NORTH’s predecessor to service in Australian waters early next year.
Launched in 1999 – and having operated in the Kimberley under True North’s former branding, North Star Cruises, until 2005 – TRUE NORTH II was positioned to Indonesian waters operating surfing charters under the name RATU MOTU since the debut of the new, larger guest vessel in the same year.
Both ships are purpose-built to sail deep into the heart of wilderness areas that are inaccessible to larger vessels and have their own helicopter onboard. TRUE NORTH II offers a more intimate experience for 22 guests, versus 36 guests.
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The reintroduction of TRUE NORTH II comes in response to increased demand for its Kimberley expedition program. True North Founding Director, Craig Howson, recently inspected the vessel in Indonesia, finding it in “first-class condition”.
“It has been extremely well maintained and remembering that it was originally designed to conduct adventure cruises along the Kimberley coast – it remains ideally suited to this task,” Howson said.
Howson said: “The introduction of a second boat will obviously allow our reservations team to offer much-improved availability, however we will also be able to offer pricing that generally represents a 25% saving when compared to the TRUE NORTH.“
“The TRUE NORTH will offer the superior level of onboard refinement however life onboard TRUE NORTH II will still be very comfortable and stylish and more importantly, it will still be the same True North experience featuring unparalleled access to wilderness, multiple daily activities and, revered onboard dining,” he added.
RATU MOTU will reposition to Fremantle in the coming weeks where it will receive a soft refit before its maiden voyage in March 2023 as TRUE NORTH II.
“Apart from scheduled maintenance, the intention is to ensure that the vessel is to ‘True North standard’,” a spokesperson for True North Adventure Cruises told LATTE.
It is expected that TRUE NORTH II will also join the Luxury Lodges of Australia portfolio of which TRUE NORTH is the only water-based operator.