Traditional Aboriginal owners of north Kimberley in Australia have officially named new ship Seabourn Pursuit.

The ceremony was conducted the Wunambal Gaambera people at Ngula Jar Island, with passengers on Zodiac boats alongside the ship and the onboard team lined up along the decks.

Seabourn is making a donation to assist Wunambal Gaambera develop a self-sustaining industry, producing authentic works of art and craft by artists to sell. 

Seabourn’s monetary contribution adds to funding already received from Tourism Western Australia to assist Wunambal Gaambera’s development of tourism facilities and products during the dry season when tourism operators can access the coastline of the Kimberley region.

Seabourn President Natalya Leahy said at the day-long ceremony: ”This day marks a very special event with the christening of Seabourn Pursuit, our newest ultra-luxury purpose-built expedition ship. 

“This is a wonderful maritime tradition, and today is extra special for us because we asked the Wunambal Gaambera to be the ship’s godparents, which marks the beginning of long sustainable partnership between our brand and this community. 

“We know our guests visit these wonderful places in the world because they believe in the transformative power of travel, and today we celebrate exactly this.”

Catherine Goonack, chair of the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, said: “We are honoured to be the godparents of Seabourn Pursuit and share our culture with their crew and guests. 

“It’s good to see our people working and sharing our unique culture in the right way.”