OREANDA-NEWS. June 26, 2015. The five-masted barque will be built by the Croatian shipyard Brodosplit near Split, which has a long history, and it is slated for completion during the course of 2017. With a sail area of 60,000 square feet (5.574 square metres) the vessel will be 162 m long and accommodate about 300 passengers.

With its faithful reproductions of classic tall ships the shipping company Star Clippers caters to both the European and the US markets. With this new ship the company will expand its fleet, which comprises three vessels so far - Royal Clipper, Star Clipper and Star Flyer - in order to meet the growing demand for cruises across the globe, which is also apparent in the cruise sailing segment.

The ship will be modelled on the legendary France II, which upon its completion in 1911 replaced the famous Preussen as the world's largest square rigger at the time. In order to meet contemporary stability criteria its beam will be somewhat larger at 18.5 m, yet its rigging and sails will be exact copies of those on the France II.