Sembcorp Marine subsidiary to design polar expedition cruise ship

Ship is being built for Quark Expeditions

JUNE 12, 2018 — Sembcorp Marine’s Bergen, Norway, headquartered subsidiary LMG Marin has secured its first polar expedition cruise ship design contract, signed with Brodosplit Shipyard of Croatia.

The ship is to be built for Seattle, WA, headquartered Quark Expeditions and is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2020. According to Brodosplit, the contract is worth EUR 110 million (about $130 million) and was finalized following a Croation Government decision to underwrite buyer’s refund guarantees.

LMG Marin will deliver a basic design package in the contract with Brodosplit Shipyard.

Designated LMG 200-PCS, the ship is the result of a close cooperation with Quark Expeditions and its partners. At 128 metres in length, it has a capacity of 200 passengers and 116 crew members.

The vessel is tailored for operations in polar and distant regions, and will be built to DNV-GL polar class PC(6) standard and will be fully compliant with Safe Return to Port requirements as well as having a life boat capacity accommodating all persons on board.

The cruise vessel also features a top deck with infrastructure for two helicopters; cabins with large windows or private balconies; a comfortable spa and wellness area; and two restaurants.

“Passenger ships have always been an important market for us,” LMG Marin Managing Director Mr. Torbjørn Bringedal said. “Throughout our 75 years of operation, we have designed more than 100 ferries, RoPax vessels and passenger vessels of various kinds, built at shipyards worldwide. The contract with Brodosplit for Quark Expeditions’ new polar expedition cruise ship marks an important breakthrough for LMG Marin in our focus on larger RoPax and passenger vessels.”

Sembcorp Marine President and CEO Mr.Wong Weng Sun said, “We are pleased that LMG Marin has won its first polar expedition cruise ship design contract. This major milestone reinforces the company’s arctic ship design capabilities which, coupled with Sembcorp Marine’s engineering expertise, will be critical to our future business opportunities and growth. We look forward to many more successes from LMG Marin.”

A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sembcorp Marine Group since 2016, LMG Marin originated several key designs that are now part of the Sembcorp Marine portfolio of engineering solutions. These include the next-generation Espadon drillships under construction for Transocean; the Floating Storage and Offloading vessel (FSO) Ailsa recently delivered to TOTAL for deployment in the harsh-environment UK North Sea; and the Gravifloat modular LNG and LPG platform solutions that offer a cost-competitive alternative to FSRU, FLNG and land-based terminals.