Bureau Veritas (BV) has announced that it will class the new luxury expedition cruise vessel to be built for Australia’s Scenic group.

The 165-m LOA vessel will be built at Croatia’s Uljanik shipyard for delivery in summer 2018. It will have lower berth accommodation for 228 passengers and 172 crew and will meet the requirements of the newly adopted Polar Code allowing operation for a certain period of the year in Polar waters.

Philippe Donche-Gay, executive vice president and managing director of the Marine & Offshore Division, BV, said: “Bureau Veritas was involved at an early stage of design, working closely with the owners, shipyard and well known design offices for the development of this new concept cruise ship. Our expertise with safety, Polar conditions and comfort on board were all critical elements of the new concept which Scenic presents as a six-star luxury discovery yacht.”

Particular attention has been paid to safety, meeting the Safe Return to Port criteria, and to comfort for the whole accommodation, based on the most stringent BV Comfort Class criteria. All guest suites will have a private balcony and the ship will be equipped with a new generation of zero-speed high efficiency stabilizers.

Scenic Eclipse will be powered by two separate diesel-electric propulsion plants and two pods.The vessel will be granted the highest BV marks and notations, including a new Polar Class and several additional class notations related to pollution prevention such as advanced waste water treatment system, ballast water management system, waste holding capacity and Green Passport.

Added Donche-Gay: “Bureau Veritas has been working for several years now with the Scenic Group on the development of its river cruise fleet, and we are proud to continue our close cooperation for this new challenging project.”