Keel laid on world’s most luxurious polar cruiser ‘Eclipse II’ at Croatian shipyard 3. Maj

(Image: Scenic Group)

The keel laying ceremony for “Eclipse II”, the most luxurious polar cruiser in the world, has taken place at the 3. Maj dock in Rijeka today, the shipyard said in a statement.

Eclipse II is a luxury polar cruiser worth almost 170 million euros being built for the Australian Scenic Group. The polar cruiser is the first new ship to be built at the dockyard in over four years and is being jointly built by MKM Yachts, a Scenic Group subsidiary in Croatia. As subcontractor, 3. Maj will build the hull of the ship.

Last year, some 1,000 tones of steels were delivered from North Macedonia to the dock required to build the Eclipse II polar cruise ship.

The ceremony today was attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Ćorić and other guests.

“Eclipse II” will be a six-star vessel, and should be completed by June 2023, according to the model of the luxury polar cruiser “Scenic Eclipse”, which was built in 2019 at Uljanik in the Croatian city of Pula.

The ship will be 168 meters long, 21.5 meters wide, in accordance with the latest environmental requirements, reinforced to navigate all seas, including tropical and polar, and will be able to accommodate 220 passengers.

The Scenic Group plans to build an additional four cruise ships of this type in the 3. Maj dockyard, totalling at €860 million.