PENANG plans to unveil its latest tourist attraction - a luxury dining cruise which would set sail around the Straits of Malacca next year.
The ship called the Penang Princess, is scheduled to be launched next year with the first in cruise dining experience.
It will ply between the shipping lanes of Penang with plans to eventually tap the market in Singapore besides the Klang Valley through Port Klang and Malacca.
This development follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Ocean World Cruises Berhad, Viet Princess Cruiser Corporation, Vietnam Shipbuilding Engineering Group (VISEC), and Ships Classification Malaysia (SCM).
The ceremony was witnessed by Penang Port Commission chairman Datuk Yeoh Soon Hin, who is also the Tourism Malaysia deputy board chairman.
The 61.58-metre vessel will offer fine dining, entertainment and sightseeing along the Straits of Malacca with plans to make Penang its home port.
It is designed by Vietnamese designer Ngo Thi Quynh Nga, its interiors will blend British colonial elegance with refined Oriental aesthetics, reflecting Penang’s multicultural heritage.
Yeoh said that the debut of the ship marks a new chapter for Malaysia’s maritime- related tourism.
“This project is not merely about building a ship — it marks the birth of an entirely new industry for Penang,” Yeoh said.
“This is a new icon for Penang tourism. Penang has long excelled on land. Now, it is time to let the world experience the beauty of Penang from the sea.”
He emphasised that the Penang Princess represents the state’s first high-end dining and sightseeing cruise, a major step in building Penang’s maritime tourism economy and a new bridge connecting Penang to the ASEAN and global tourism markets.
Present at the signing ceremony were Ocean World Cruises Berhad founder and managing director, Kenny Nye Kay Leong; Viet Princess Cruiser Corporation founder and chairman Truong Quang Coung; Vietnam Shipbuilding Engineering Group’s (VISEC) Le Thanh Hung; and Ships Classification Malaysia (SCM)’s Mohd Mardy Mohamed Rohani.
Nye first conceptualised a floating dining experience in 2020 when PPC explored converting old ferries into a floating restaurant.
Due to the ferries’ deteriorated condition and limitations as stationary structures, Nye embarked on a new vision: to build a world-class, fully seaworthy luxury dining cruise from scratch.
He travelled extensively abroad to study international dining cruise models. A key turning point was his connection with Truong Quang Cuong, Vietnam’s pioneer in river cruises on the Mekong River between Vietnam and Cambodia in 2003 and in a luxurious dining cruise on the Saigon River in 2017.
Cuong meanwhile has been the project director of building new 12 river cruise ships and renovating two river cruise ships in Ho Chi Minh City since 2006
The Penang Princess cruise ship will be built over two years, backed by private investors.
The vessel is designed to become a premier venue for sea weddings, corporate galas, cultural showcases and premium tourism events. - November 25, 2025.
