M/s 'Monet' was purchased by Split Shipyard from a reputable bank and completely renovated in Brodosplit. It is 68 meters long, has 1480 GT and Caterpillar main propulsion engines with a total power of 1000 kW which enable speed of 13 knots. 30 cabins can accommodate 60 passengers who are taken cared of by 27 crew members. All cabins are air-conditioned, have a mini bar, telephone, LED TV and Wi-Fi Internet.
Travellers from France who will be welcomed by Monet in Venice and will go on a two-week cruise across the Italian coast and Croatian islands will be the first one to meet the beauties of the Adriatic Sea. During our tourist season, the ship would sail throughout the whole Mediterranean and off-season across Caribbean islands and other tourist destinations.
The elegant cruiser is decorated with 'Gatsby' interior and breathtaking decks with plenty of sitting space for reading and relaxing. It carries the name of the French Impressionist painter Oscar-Claude Monet, whose vivid reproduction decorate all the public space and passengers cabin. The library offers a wide range of books and magazines, and the open-air bar & lounge can be transformed into a comfortable place for relaxation and dance on request of the passengers. In order not to lose the habit of exercising during the voyage, there is an equipped gym with an enviable number of modern fitness equipment.
The ship was built in 1970 in the shipyard "Georgi Dimitrov" in Bulgarian Varna under the name "Yushar". It was a Soviet passenger-cargo vessel that sailed to the ports of Solovki and Umba in the North Sea from Arhangelsk until 1997 when it was converted into a cruise ship at the former "Brodoremont" in Vranjic. It sailed under the name of "Stella Dalmatiae" for a year, but soon got its present name "Monet" under which carried out its regular and long-distance cruises in the Adriatic from Venice to Dubrovnik, regularly sailing into Split's port.
Brodosplit Group develops, designs and builds the most complex vessels and floating facilities as the dominant program, and the most complex steel structures for infrastructure, transport, energy, process and general application. During the restructuring period, the company turned to projects and products that bring greater added value, and as a result since 2013 we have been in a possession of a fleet of ships whose chartering complements the business. In five years, over € 50 million kunas have been invested in the equipment and over 350 million kunas in its own fleet.
- We do not want to enter the niche of huge Mediterranean cruise ships nor be like smaller shipowners whose boats only sail from Dubrovnik to Split in the summer. We want to operate the whole year. Our 'Katina' sails through the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, but other ships will be in the area of Mediterranean and besides Croatia will come into contact with Italy, Slovenia, Montenegro even Albania and Greece. Our desire is to connect the domestic market more closely, and as a company we want to promote a Croatian product as well.
Our goal is to connect 'blue' and 'green' Croatia so that the offer in the menu includes excellent and traditional Croatian dishes and products. This is a unique business start in Croatia, and our vision is that DIV Cruises together with the local community offers unique and diverse product to the market, "says Robert Sedlar, director of DIV-Cruises.
Besides the luxury motor yacht 'Katina' there are two more ships in a process of construction in the Brodosplit fleet, 62-meter three-masted sailing ship 'Klara' and 'Picasso', originally built as a river cruiser but converted into a sailing ship. With the construction of cruise ships, Brodosplit tries to be a permanent support to domestic nautical tourism, thus contributing to economic prosperity and increasing the number of employed persons in Dalmatia and Croatia.