P&O Cruises Australia, the Australia focused contemporary market brand in Carnival Corp & plc group, says it will introduce calls at the Conflict Islands in Papua New Guinea from next year.

“One of the most remote island groups in the world – the privately-owned Conflict Islands – is set to be the latest tourism hot spot for Australian holidaymakers with P&O Cruises announcing it will make the first cruise ship calls to the picturesque Papua New Guinea atoll next year,” the company said in a statement.

With its fleet expanding from three to five ships this year and further to seven in 2017, cruising from eight homeports between 2016 and 2018, the cruise line has released details of its latest itineraries which will see P&O continuing to pioneer new cruise destinations including the uninhabited Conflict Islands and Queensland’s Fraser Island.

In June 2016, Pacific Jewel will become the first cruise ship to call at the untouched Conflict Islands as part of P&O’s Papua New Guinea itineraries. A picturesque group of 21 islands surrounding a blue lagoon that is home to one of the world’s most biodiverse reef systems, the name of the archipelago is in stark contrast to the reality, with the Conflict Islands considered one of the most peaceful places on the planet.

In a landmark partnership for the region, P&O Cruises has worked with eccentric entrepreneur and passionate conservationist Ian Gowrie-Smith to bring cruise ships to his islands – one of only a few parcels of land owned freehold in Papua New Guinea, the company said.