If the accompanying images reflect a vessel which looks familiar, yes, you’re correct. Guillemot has visited our waters previously – albeit under a different name. After the global easing of Covid restrictions, she’s back here for a spell of charter work – and also because New Zealand is a convenient maintenance stopover halfway through her (fourth) circumnavigation.
Born on the drawing board of Dubois Naval Architects, she was built by the renowned Dutch shipyard Vitters and launched in 2004. Nearly 20 years later this sleek beauty is as impressive and eye-catching as ever, and even more sumptuous internally following a recent refit (2021).
The new owner named her after his favourite seabird (a guillemot is a member of the auk family), a rechristening echoing a pattern of ownership exchanges. She was launched as but was renamed with each ownership swap – – and now .