AmaWaterways’ first vessel on Colombia’s Magdalena River will enter service in 2024 and its design will be “a blend” of the line’s Africa and Mekong-based vessels.

Jon Burrows, AmaWaterways’ chief operating officer, said the all-suite vessel, which will likely carry around 70 passengers, would launch outside the two rainy seasons in April and May and October and November in 2024.

Previously, AmaWaterways had outlined plans to bring new ship AmaMagdalena into service in December 2023, but Burrows admitted the project had been pushed back a few months.

He said: “The ship design is now finished so we can now think about construction. Nobody operates on the Magdalena yet. It’s a wild river and it’s in its natural form, so there are no facilities.

“[The project] will require investigation and exploration.”

He added the ship would be “a blend” of the line’s south-east Asian and African products and would be the same size as AmaWaterways’ Nile-based vessel, AmaDahlia.

Burrows also confirmed plans to add a second vessel on the Nile.

The line said fleet capacity had increased by 36% this year following the introduction of three ships – AmaSiena, AmaLucia and AmaDahlia – during the pandemic and the return of three vessels after a charter deal ended.