Pandaw goes for shallow and small

Pandaw launched its newest river cruise ship in Yangon, late last week, a shallow-draft vessel that can navigate up stream sections of the country’s major rivers.
It will go into commercial service this July once it is fitted out.
This new K class vessel has a design draft of just 80 cm and will be able to go where no other river cruise ship can go in Myanmar – far up the Chindwin and high up the Irrawaddy year round.
As more and more river cruise ships compete on the Bagan to Mandalay sector, Pandaw has decided to opt for smaller vessels that explore river section that have off limits to larger hulled vessels.
Pandaw executives say they are going back to how they started nearly 20 years ago by offering pioneering trips to areas that have not seen tourists before.
In order to keep the weight down there are just two decks with only twenty deluxe staterooms, a choice of indoor or outdoor bistro-style dining and all the traditional touches that are associated with the Pandaw experience special.
The hull, steel work and engines were completed three months ago and outfitting will be completed by May well in time for deployment up-river in July. The Kalaw’s sister ship, the Kindat Pandaw will be launched from the same shipyard in three weeks.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews