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(maritime-executive.com)

The world’s largest sailing ship was launched at the Brodosplit shipyard in Croatia on Saturday.

The Flying Clipper is a near replica of the France II ordered in 1911 at La Gironde shipyard Bordeaux.

The vessel has been under construction for two years for Monaco-based Star Clippers. Flying Clipper has a steel hull and will have teak decking. She is 162 meters (532 feet) long and 18.5 meters (60 feet) wide, with a deadweight of 2,000 tons. She will be square-rigged with five masts and have an overall sail surface of 6,347 square meters (68,300 square feet).

Flying Clipper has five decks, with accommodation for 450 persons, 300 passengers in 150 luxury cabins, and 74 crew cabins for 150 crew members.

The ship is intended exclusively for sailing, although she will have two fully independent electric engines. She will meet Safe Return to Port requirements with twin engine rooms and an additional bridge. The design will enable the vessel to return to port from around 2,000 nautical miles from shore.

Flying Clipper is designed to sail in all oceans including the Arctic and Antarctic and will be built to meet ice class requirements. She is expected to be capable of sailing at up to 20 knots under the favorable weather conditions and at around 16 knots under power.

Flying Clipper will be the fourth sailing vessel for Star Clippers when she enters service in 2018.