Portuguese cruise company Mystic Cruises has placed an order for two new expedition ships with the West Sea shipyard in Portugal. These two new ships – named World Voyager and World Navigator – will be part of Mystic Cruises' Explorer class of polar ships, joining the World Explorer, the company's first ship currently under construction at the same shipyard and scheduled to begin operations in April 2019.
With a capacity for 200 passengers and 110 crew members, the Explorer-class ships, with their reinforced hulls, are designed to navigate polar waters with up to one meter of ice thickness. Mystic Cruise will offer luxury cruises and expeditions worldwide, including destinations as remote as Antarctica and the Arctic. Focused on providing a unique and authentic experience for its guests, these ships have been designed to visit smaller ports and dock near historic city centers.
“These ships have been meticulously designed and created to offer passengers an authentic experience of combined luxury and adventure. They not only offer exceptional comfort and personalized service on board, but also the opportunity to visit more exclusive ports and sail right to the heart of the cities they visit,” stated Mário Ferreira, CEO of Mystic Cruises.
Sustainability and environmental safety have also been key considerations in the design of these exploration cruise ships. “We will be sailing to some of the purest and most beautiful regions in the world. To reduce our impact, we have worked with Rolls-Royce to integrate an ultra-sophisticated hybrid propulsion system that dramatically reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, as well as a dynamic positioning system that will allow us to avoid using an anchor, thus protecting the marine environment,” said Mário Ferreira.
These two new ships represent an additional investment of €140 million, on top of the €70 million already invested in the World Explorer, and are secured through an agreement between Mystic Cruises and ICBC Leasing. This, along with an equity investment, allows the cruise company to accelerate the growth of its fleet to meet market demand. The financing model is supported by Portuguese banks during the construction period, and ICBC Leasing's funds are secured afterward through a sale and charter agreement with the company, including an obligation to purchase the ships at the end of the contract.
“Given current market demand, we believe it’s important to bring forward our Mystic Cruises expansion project by a few years,” continued Mário Ferreira. “We have chartered the entire inventory of Antarctic cruises on the World Explorer until 2023, and most of our other 2019 cruises are fully booked. Arctic, Norwegian Fjords, Greenland, and Baltic cruises are a huge success in the German market, where Mystic Cruises’ sister company, Nicko Cruises, operates the World Explorer voyages. With this very positive outlook, it was essential to move forward with building more ships, these being the first of a fleet of 10 ships that we intend to develop and build.”
