Monaco-headquartered tall ship sailing cruise line Star Clippers has started building its fourth square rigger, the company’s biggest and most ambitious project to date.
The five-masted barque will be built by Croatia’s Brodosplit Shipyard, and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2017.
This is Star Clippers’ first newbuilding project since the launch of Royal Clipper in July 2000.
The new vessel, yet to be named, will be able to accommodate 300 passengers. The 8,770-ton barque will be powered by more than 6,350 square meters of sails.
While the company’s flagship Royal Clipper is modeled on the legendary German sailing ship Preussen, the new member of the fleet will be a near-replica of France II, commissioned in 1911 and the largest square rigger ever built.
Just as the original France II eclipsed Preussen more than a century ago as the world’s largest square rigger, the Star Clippers new build will replace its sister, Royal Clipper, as the largest ship of its kind afloat today.