Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) has decided to give its support to the Brodosplit shipyard which will construct the largest square rig sailing ship in the world, reports Slobodna Dalmatcija on August 10, 2015.
The buyer of the ship is Star Clippers Ltd. from Monaco, which has signed a contract with the Brodosplit Group to build a passenger square rig ship. The construction of the ship will be funded by the German KfW Ipex Bank, together with another commercial bank. One of the prerequisites for the fulfilment of the loan agreement was the issuance of the insurance policy by which HBOR assumes the risk of repayment for some of the loans which KfW Ipex gave to the buyer.
Successful completion of the project with the support of HBOR will contribute to further sustainability of Brodosplit shipyard and preserve its core shipbuilding activities. It will also enable its entry to the growing market of sailing ships and provide the necessary references for new, similar assignments.
The new ship will be built on the model of legendary ship “France II” from 1911. The ship will be 162 meters long, it will have five masts and sails with total area of 5,574 square meters and will be able to accommodate about 300 passengers. It will be the largest ship of its kind in the world, and must be completed by 2017.
