Posted on August 24, 2022
Miami-based residential cruise ship company Storylines has signed a construction contract for its first ship with the Brodosplit shipyard in Split, Croatia.
Brodosplit, part of the DIV Group, has commenced the engineering phase of the 753-foot (229 meters) vessel which will have 547 private residences on board. To be named MV Narrative the vessel will be the first residential ship powered by liquid natural gas propulsion (LNG).
“We are thrilled to be partnering with such a reputable European yard with a long history of delivering high-quality passenger ships,” said Storylines CEO Alister Punton. “Our resident owners can hardly wait to move onboard the state-of-the-art ship so they can travel the world from the comfort of home.”
The residential cruise ship will be different from a vacation cruise ship in that it will be purpose built for residential life at sea. It is intended to be a floating community and includes a post office, school, library, hospital, bank, pools, office spaces and 20 dining and bar venues.
It will feature what Storylines says will be the largest wellness center at sea with a 10,000-square foot area for the spa, gym and anti-aging clinic. Amenities will also include a waterfront marina with personal watercraft, bowling alley, hydroponic garden farm and an open-air fitness deck with racquet sports, yoga sun deck and running track.
Delivery of the ship is targeted for 2025 and total sales revenue from the 547 residence project are valued at $1.5 billion.
“We are pleased to be building this innovative ship with Storylines,” said Tomislav Debeljak, president of the board at Brodosplit. “We always enter into projects that bring development to the industry and include new technologies. This vessel is equipped with various energy saving features, has dual fuel powered engines (fuel oil and LNG) and will be optimized to have the lowest possible emission of harmful particles and gasses. There are many new green technologies and ship systems we are pioneering, which makes this a very exciting project for us.”
Pricing of the residences on the ship ranges from $1 million to $8 million for the lifetime of the vessel with a limited number of 24-year leases available starting at $647,000.
How long will that “lifetime of the vessel” be? A Storylines blog post says that one reason the company opted for a newbuild, after first looking at various conversion options, was “longevity for 60 years, opposed to 24 years on an older ship.”
