The launching ceremony of a polar cruise ship, the Newbuilding 485, which will be named "Janssonius" was held in Brodosplit on Thursday, March 11, 2021.
The launch was attended by numerous representatives of state and local authorities, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Ćorić, Split Mayor Andro Krstulović Opara, Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blaženko Boban, Brodosplit CEO Tomislav Debeljak, and the Newbuilding’s godmother Tanja Mravak, defectologist, and writer, from the Center for Autism Split. She and Karlo Kolak, a student at the Center for Autism, cut the rope holding champagne and symbolically “launched” the ship.
The Center for Autism Split was founded in 1997 as a branch of the Center for Autism Zagreb. The main activity of the Center is education, rehabilitation, and care for people with autism spectrum disorders.
- Congratulations to Brodosplit on yet another great achievement and completion of the Newbuilding 485. Every vessel similar to this one is a success of the shipyard, as well as the country of its origin. Given the fact that this ship will carry about 70 percent of the equipment and materials that were made by Croatian hands and Croatian knowledge, our success is all the greater. The government will continue to observe the construction of new ships and thus provide a hand of cooperation to shipyards that can and know how to fight international competition. Brodosplit proved with this ship it can do that, that it knows how. We are looking forward to future cooperation and your future successes and we congratulate you from the bottom of our hearts, said Tomislav Ćorić, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.
"Janssonius" is a polar expedition vessel, contracted for the Oceanwide Expeditions, which specializes in expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic.
- We built this ship, the Newbuilding 485, during the pandemic. I must emphasize that we succeeded thanks to the responsibility, knowledge, and diligence of our workers, but also because we bravely, smartly, and effectively fought Coronavirus and made Brodosplit one of the safest workspaces as well as protected the health of our workers and their families, said Tomislav Debeljak, Brodosplit CEO.
The vessel is 108.6 meters long, 17.6 meters wide, and the speed of 15 knots will be provided by two main engines with a total power of 4260 kW. It will be able to accommodate 194 passengers housed in 81 cabins, cared for by 78 crew members. The vessel’s value is estimated at 50 million euros, and approximately 70 percent is a domestic component.
- I would like to point out that the 485 is the third ship that we have contracted in a completely novel and innovative way that includes financing the ship. This way, we have shown the very demanding world market the possibilities of Croatian shipbuilding, the possibilities of Brodosplit, which is growing into a leader among the European polar cruiser builders, said Tomislav Debeljak, Brodosplit CEO.
The polar cruise ship will be completed in the "LR PC6" class, which meets the latest requirements of the Lloyd’s Register for "PolarClass 6" vessels and will be able to welcome the first passengers for the Arctic season 2021/2022.
The passengers will be offered a high hotel standard as well as various categories of cabins, from spacious apartments to two-bedroom and four-bedroom cabins, where they will be provided with a safe and comfortable stay with multiple security systems. By developing a fleet of vessels adapted to ice-cold seas, Oceanwide Expeditions promotes small, flexible tours that provide passengers with close contact with polar wildlife, landscapes, and historical sites.
- This is the third launch in the polar class program that we are building owing to the guarantees of the Government of the Republic of Croatia that we received on April 30 2020 in the first term of Andrej Plenković’s office. Thus, we have secured the financing of projects, because of which we can compete for the construction of the most modern and most expensive ships. One such is the Newbuilding 487, named “Ultramarine”, which has been completed and is expected to have a delivery ceremony soon. The state guarantee will be returned immediately after the delivery ceremony, said Tomislav Debeljak.
Not only do the guarantees secure the employment of our more than 2,000 workers, but by delivering the ship as the most complex product, whose price includes 70 percent of the domestic component as in the case of Brodosplit - DIVGroup has become one of the largest net exporters in Croatia.
