Croatia's Brodosplit shipyard held a keel-laying ceremony for the world’s first LR Polar Class 6 cruise ship it is currently building.
The ceremony was held on Monday at its shipyard in Split Croatia for Hull No.484, MV Hondius for Oceanwide Expeditions.
The polar expedition ship will be 107.6 m long, 17.6 m wide, with 85 high hotel standard cabins able to accommodate 196 passengers.
The new LR Polar Class 6 vessel will be powered by 2 engines with total output of 4200 kW. MV Hondius will be able to reach speeds of 15 knots.
According to the shipyard, cruising the polar regions was a growing niche market niche and they had received a lot of orders in preparation and hoped to build more such ships.
The newbuild is expected to be ready for the arctic season March 2019.