Scenic Group has reached a milestone in the construction of its second Ice-Class “Discovery Yacht”. The official keel-laying ceremony was held for Scenic Eclipse II on Wednesday [12 May 2021] at the Maj 3 shipyard in Rijeka, Croatia.
Scenic Eclipse II will be a sister-ship to the six-star Scenic Eclipse that was built by Uljanik at nearby Pula, and delivered in August 2019.
This week’s keel-laying event – the first at the Maj 3 shipyard in four years – comes 12-months after the first steel for Scenic Eclipse II was cut. Production of the hull was slowed due to the pandemic.
Video credit: Siniša Ostojić, Commercial Manager, Maj 3 Shipyard
Scenic’s subsidiary, MKM Yachts, is overseeing the development of the hull and sections at Maj 3, and will take over all outfitting after the vessel’s launch.
Subscribe to LATTE’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury travel industry.
In May last year, MKM Yachts confirmed an agreement with the Croatian Government to commence shipbuilding operations in a dedicated separate section of Maj 3. The government has committed to supporting the redevelopment of the shipyard and assist in the funding of MKM’s new building program.
The Australian-founded company plans to build and operate as many as five more Discovery Yachts, valued at much as 860 million euro.
Glen Moroney, Owner of the Scenic Group, attended the dockside event, which was watched on by workers.
“Two years ago, we launched the most luxurious and technologically advanced polar cruise vessel ever built. The great success achieved by Scenic Eclipse and our guests’ continuous praise reaffirmed our desire to launch a sister ship – Scenic Eclipse II.”
“We are all familiar with the challenges that currently face the cruising industry. At Scenic Group, we are proud to continue to invest in new ventures that demonstrate our unwavering belief in the future of the industry and indeed, Scenic’s leading position within that.
“The keel laying ceremony is symbolic for the start of full production and from here on we will proceed at speed for delivery,” Moroney added.
Moroney thanked the Croatian Government and the Rijeka shipyard for their “ongoing support”.
Croatia’s Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, and Minister of Sea and Transportation, Oleg Butković, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Tomislav Ćorić, were also present at the event.
The ceremony in Croatia should provide Scenic with renewed enthusiasm after earlier this week confirming the luxury travel company had little choice but to shelve its Kimberley, Australia deployment of Scenic Eclipse due to ongoing uncertainty on regulatory approvals and ship capacity restrictions.
Scenic said the second iteration of its second ocean-going ship is now slated for launch in the first quarter of 2023. It is expected the ship will include a number of advances on the launch vessel.
Lead image: Scenic Eclipse, Devil Island, Antarctica | Credit: Roger Pimenta/Scenic