More great news for Croatian tourism from the Tomic family who run the Krilo catamarans. A direct service from Split to Dubrovnik in 3 hours, as well as unofficial reports of a bigger and faster boat to service to the popular Dubrovnik – Mljet – Korcula – Hvar – Milna (Brac) – Split route. Slobodna Dalmacija reports on the latet arrival to the Krilo fleet.
On Sunday, after a five-day trip from Ibiza in Spain, catamaran “Espalmador Jet” arrived in the Split North Port. It is a new acquisition of “Kapetan Luka”, a shipping company owned by Tomić family from Krilo Jesenice, which plans to use the fast ship to connect Split and Dubrovnik starting in spring, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on December 29, 2015.
After initial technical checks which will be done in the coming few days at the docks in the Split cargo port, the catamaran which can carry 359 passengers and seven crew members will sail to the NCP repair shipyard in Šibenik, where minor works and adaptations will be carried out.
Until November, the Dalmatian coastal line was serviced by fast ship “Krilo Star”, which is also undergoing overhaul at Mandalina in Šibenik. After just one year spent under the Croatian flag, Tomić family has decided to sell the ship to its new Spanish owners.
“We have been looking for a long time for a ship which would be suitable for the line to Dubrovnik, but on the market generally there aren’t too many ships for sale. However, we have been monitoring ‘Espalmador Jet’ for a while and when the opportunity arose we immediately decided to buy it. The catamaran cost us three million euros, but you should know that during construction in Australia in 1999 it was worth 11 million dollars, which would be between 13 and 15 million dollars under the current exchange rate. The ship is in good condition, it was built for long-haul lines and, most importantly, it will be very comfortable for our passengers. We believe that it will be ready to take over the line as early as mid-March”, said Luka Tomić, head of the family business, who spoke just as the 200 ton aluminium catamaran was being offloaded from the deck of the cargo ship.
With almost 40 seats more than its predecessor on the coastal line, the current “Espalmador Jet”, which will soon get new name, has some interesting facilities which will surely attract both local and foreign guests, such as a playroom for children and special areas for carrying animals.
The new catamaran in Tomić’s fleet was built 16 years ago in Fremantle in Australia for Norwegian clients under the name “Draupner”. From March to June 2007, under the Italian flag and name “Ammari”, it briefly served on the lines to the islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, after which it was bought by Spanish owners for servicing lines between the Balearic islands of Ibiza and Formentera.
