Scenic Group Chairman Glen Moroney has today released a video detailing the stage of construction the company’s first ocean-going ship, Scenic Eclipse, has passed.
A workforce of over 700 builders during the day, 150 overnight and 450 on Saturdays are piecing together the Discovery Yacht, which has been earmarked to enter service at the end of January 2019.
“The interior fit-out comes continues at pace and the engine and associated systems commissioning has commenced,” Moroney said, highlighting that only a few balconies and the heli deck are yet to be mounted before the hull and superstructure are complete. Scaffolding around the ship featured in the video is for workers to prepare the hull for final painting.
In late August, Moroney told LATTE Scenic Eclipse‘s construction has been achieved despite the shipyard experiencing significant financial issues which among other things led to recent strike action (now resolved), a message reiterated in today’s letter posted on Scenic’s Facebook page.
“The Uljanik group are working with the Croatian Government and the European Union’s Competition Authority to develop a restructuring plan and we hope this process will be completed soon,” he said.
“Given the yard’s challenges, Scenic took full ownership of Eclipse some time ago and has contracted suppliers directly and funded the project entirely to ensure continuation of the build. Despite the difficult environment, Scenic’s supervisory team, along with Uljanik’s management and production workers, are totally focused on the ship’s completion. Due to the shipyards financial situation and strike action we have faced some delays, but we continue to address these as they arise,” Moroney added.
He added that he and wife, Karen, continue to visit the shipyard in Pula, Croatia on a weekly basis “and see a very special ship coming to life”.
“No computer generated image or even the video you see here can truly portray the presence of the ship close up. As the public spaces and cabins come together, our entire team become more excited about the experiences we will deliver,” he added.
“For those lucky enough to sail on her, you will undoubtedly enjoy a game changing Discovery Cruise Experience and we as a company are deeply committed to ensuring that is the case at every level,” Moroney concluded.
View a timeline of Scenic Eclipse’s inception to current day here.
