The Piana ship, designed for the transport of passengers, freight and passenger vehicles and hazardous cargo, was delivered to its owner, French shipping company SNC Navale STEF-TFE, at a ceremony in the Brodosplit shipyard in the southern city of Split on Tuesday.
This ro-pax vessel is the most complex and expensive project in the shipyard's history and its contract price makes it the most expensive ship ever built in a Croatian shipyard, Brodosplit said in a statement without specifying the price.
The ship was entirely built without government aid, and with its delivery to its owner Brodosplit has returned to the government the billion kuna it received as collateral for the ship's construction.
The Piana will operate between Marseilles and Bastia, Corsica. It is 180 metres long, 30.5 metres wide and nearly 37 metres high, and has a carrying capacity of 11,300 tons. It is driven by four engines that can develop a speed of 24 knots, and will be operated by a crew of 56.
With 12 decks, the ship can transport 750 passengers accommodated in 200 cabins, and can carry 200 passenger cars and 230 freight vehicles.
The contract was signed in July 2008 and the construction began a year later.
