Schulte Marine Concept (SMC), working together with Bernhard Schulte Cruise Services, has won its first cruise ship contract with Portugal-based Mystic Cruises.
SMC – the project management arm of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement – will provide technical consultancy and newbuild supervision services to support construction of the ocean-going luxury expedition cruise ship, World Explorer.
World Explorer will be built as a 126 m long expedition cruise ship with a passenger capacity of 200 and a crew complement of 111.
The vessel will meet the latest Polar Code operating requirements and will be equipped with state-of-the-art hybrid power and propulsion technology, which will enable the ship to cruise in environmentally sensitive areas.
Construction of World Explorer has started at West Sea shipyard in Viana do Castello, in northern Portugal and will start cruising late 2018.
SMC managing director Krzysztof Kozdron said “Schulte Marine Concept is pleased to enter the expedition cruise newbuilding segment with an innovative vessel such as World Explorer, which will be the ultimate benchmark for environmental sustainability and luxury cruising in remote areas.”
Mystic Group has an established a river cruise operation: DouroAzul, which is the largest luxury operator on the Douro River using 16 vessels. Mystic also owns Nicko Cruises of Germany operating another 20 river vessels around the world, from the Danube, Rhine and Elbe to the Yangtze, Mekong and Nile. Both DouroAzul and Nicko will be expanded with new ships in 2018.
SMC said that moving Mystic Group into the luxury ocean cruising market was a “logical step” and that Mystic Group anticipates at least another three vessels besides World Explorer to be delivered over the next four years.
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