Excursions in Burma: RV Pandaw 1947 Cruise Boat
RV Pandaw was built in Scotland on the Clyde by the famous ships builder Yarrow & Co on 1947 with the same design of the pre-war Quarter Wheeler steamers of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company.
RV Paukan 1947, Pagan
RV Pandaw 1947 Cruise Boat
The RV Pandaw and other 5 similar so called "class P" design vessels were commissioned after the end of the Second World War.
RV Pandaw was built in Scotland on the Clyde by the famous ships builder Yarrow & Co on 1947 with the same design of the pre-war Quarter Wheeler steamers of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company. After being boarded up in order to protect her from the sea waves, she left Scotland for the delivery voyage to Burma in 1950. On the 12th January 1951 she started to serve the Inland Water Transport (Irrawaddy Flotilla was nationalized on the 1st of June 1948) on the route Mandalay- Bhamo for both cargo and passenger transportation.
In 1998 she was hired from Inland Water Transport and converted into a 16 cabin luxury vessel by the Historian Mr. Paul Strachan and his wife, who is also the founder of the revived Irrawaddy Flotilla Company.
After 5 successful years as a Myanmar river cruise vessel on the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers, IFC decided to not renew the charter contract with IWT anymore because the Old Lady RV Pandaw needed some major repairs and re fitting, an investment that IFC probably deemed not convenient as they have already built two new Pandaw replicas with larger passenger capacity.
In the second half of the 2003 Interconnection Co. Ltd signed the charter agreement with IWT and the Pandaw underwent to major renovations in the Marine Side at the Yangon Dalla Dockyards. As far as the Hotel side is concerned new furniture has been specially designed and new food and everage equipment have been bought.
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