MV Coral Expeditions I

The 1988-built MV Coral Expeditions 1 cruise ship (fka “Coral Princess I”) is a catamaran deployed in the Great Barrier Reef (Coral Sea, Australia). Purpose-built in Australia with a shallow draft of just 2.5 m (8 ft), the vessel can access remote, UNESCO-listed reef areas.

In 2025, following the end of her Coral Expeditions charter, the vessel (IMO number 8804696) was renamed “HELPR 1” and reflagged to Vanuatu (MMSI 576139000). Prior to this, Coral Expeditions 1 was Australia-flagged (MMSI 503091000).

Until 2025, Coral Expeditions 1 was exclusively chartered to the Australia-based brand Coral Expeditions. Her itineraries featured coastal navigation around deserted islands and pristine reefs inaccessible to day-trippers and larger ships. The company’s Great Barrier Reef voyages operated between the Queensland homeports of Darwin and Cairns, offering an in-depth snapshot of the marine park’s diverse ecosystem.

Coral Expeditions (formerly Coral Princess Cruises/fleet) was founded in 1984 by Captain Tony Briggs. His first vessel was an ex-World War II Fairmile-class submarine chaser converted to accommodate 24 passengers on short overnight Great Barrier Reef trips from Cairns. All Coral Expeditions ships are Australia-flagged, Australia-based and crewed by Australians, making the company one of the few truly Australian cruise operators. Its areas of operation include New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Kimberley and Northern Australia, Tasmania and the South Pacific.

On December 15, 2014, Tony Briggs (Founder and Managing Director of Coral Princess Cruises Pty Ltd) announced that the Singapore-based Kallang Capital Holdings (part of PrimePartners Group Pte Ltd) had acquired a majority stake in the company.

In 2025, ownership changed again as Kallang Capital Holdings sold the vessel to Respond Global, a Noosaville QLD-based organization specializing in health crisis and disaster-management preparedness and response solutions.

Shipboard facilities

Coral Expeditions 1 has 4 decks and 25 staterooms. The vessel carries its own small exploration craft (“The Explorer”) for beach and wharf landings in remote areas. Itineraries are highly flexible, allowing the Captain to adjust course when weather or sea conditions make alternate destinations more suitable. Like the rest of the fleet, Coral Expeditions 1 maintains an open-bridge policy, permitting passengers to enter the Deck A navigation bridge to observe operations and interact with the Captain and crew.

Coral Expeditions voyages best suit active travelers who enjoy sea adventures. There is no age requirement for shore excursions, which typically take place twice daily. Guest lecturers—such as geologists, national park rangers and marine biologists—accompany each voyage to provide expert insights. Life onboard MS Coral Expeditions I is destination-focused, with limited organized activities beyond video presentations and port talks in the lounge. Most of the experience occurs ashore or in the water. There is little nightlife onboard; evenings are relaxed and spent enjoying drinks at the bar and socializing over dinner.