A 2019 delivery date is still expected.
'If we had to push it [back] a little bit, we would rather do that to make sure the vessel is exactly want we want. We're not doing that yet,' cfo Craig Felenstein told analysts on the company's earnings call.
The yard has been selected from a field of three finalists, narrowed to two.
Lindblad Expeditions is now in the process of carefully honing the design, according to chief operating officer Ian Rogers. 'That's what's taking some time, and it's very productive for us,' he said.
In 2016, when Lindblad disclosed plans to build an ocean-going expedition ship with capacity for approximately 170 passengers, the company estimated a price of $130m to $135m.
Today officials did not comment on the size but said that price is in the range of what's expected however 'we have the ability to be more aggressive on price given things that have happened in the market,' Felenstein said.
This would be Lindblad's first ocean-going newbuild. The company just introduced its first coastal newbuild, National Geographic Quest, and a sister, National Geographic Venture, is due for delivery in 2018.
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