Asian River Fleet Pandaw Cruises Gets a Reprieve

RV Mekong Pandaw one of 17 in the fleet--Pandaw Cruises

Just as the COVID shutdown seemed to have claimed another victim. Asian river cruise company Pandaw announced it has found financing to get back into business.

Its fleet of 17 traditional river vessels have been out of service in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and India due to the pandemic and ships in Myanmar were affected by the political situation there. Now the Strachan family that owns the ships say they have managed to secure financing to cover the lay-up and vessel refurbishment costs for a restart next autumn. They plan to keep the business in the family and relaunch marketing activity as soon as all remaining travel restrictions have been lifted.

Pandaw reports strong bookings for the 2022/23 season with many departures sold out and many customers using their credits for canceled voyages to rebook.

Meanwhile, destinations are reopening with India, Thailand and Cambodia now open to vaccinated travelers. Parts of Laos and Vietnam will be accessible in January as a first step toward fully reopening later in the year.

Pandaw was one of the pioneers of Southeast Asia river cruises. Founded in 1995, it was the first company to offer live-aboard river voyages in Myanmar on both the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers, and it was one of the biggest operators of river cruises on the Mekong River in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

In addition to operating riverboats in Southeast Asia under the Pandaw name, the company has operated vessels under charter for European river cruise brands including Avalon Waterways and Viking River Cruises.

Asia remains off the cruise map for the winter season. Other lines that operate in Asia and charter their ships to European lines are waiting until the COVID situation becomes more clear before announcing a restart of service.

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