Brodosplit shipyard said on Tuesday they signed a contract with a Seattle-based company Quark Expeditions to build a €110 million polar cruise ship in the Polar Class 6 class, set to become the biggest ever cruise ship built in that class.
This will be the most luxurious ship for polar cruises in the world, capable of accommodating 200 passengers in 103 luxury cabins, and catered for by a 116-member crew. It will be 128 metres long and 21.5 metres wide, and capable of reaching the speed of 16 knots. The ship should be ready for the 2020 arctic season.
The statement said that Quark Expeditions is part of the Travelopia group, which owns a diverse array of global companies specialised in adventure travel. Quark Expeditions, established in 1991, is the world’s leading polar cruise operator, and they own ships with special modifications allowing them to take visitors to otherwise inaccessible areas of the world.
VEZANE VIJESTI
CEO of Brodosplit, Tomislav Debeljak, said the contract showed that some of the most important companies in the world had recognised the Split-based Brodosplit as a dock which could build and deliver very complex ships. He added that the building of this ship would put Brodosplit among the best docks in the world, and that more than three quarters of the parts used to build the ship would be made in Croatia.
Travelopia, a company supported by KKR, a private equity firm, is one of leading global travel experience groups.
Croatia is an investment destination for KKR as a leading global investor. Travelopia’s contract with the Split-based shipyard is proof of KKR’s continued support of Croatian companies as well as its contribution to job creation in the region.
KKR recently got full local regulatory approval for investing in the Nova TV broadcaster through its portfolio company United Group. This transaction enabled the United Group to support local production capabilities and increase investments in the production of original content in Croatia.
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