The new ship's capacity would be 2,000 passengers and 200 cars and it would connect the port of Split with the islands of Hvar, Vis, Korcula and Lastovo.
Two companies responded to an international tender, Finland's Deltamarin and Poland's Remontowa. A contract with Remontowa on the design of the ship will be signed soon, while an international tender for its construction could be advertised in 2017. Klanac said construction would take at least two years.
Jadrolinija transports 11 million passengers and 2.6 million vehicles a year. By 2027, it plans to invest EUR 281 million to renew the fleet, including the purchase of 26 new ships. The company plans to reduce the fleet from 50 to 44 ships and raise its capacity from 28,020 to 31,377 passengers and from 3,924 to 4,710 vehicles.
In the first seven months of 2016, Jadrolinija transported six million passengers and 1.5 million vehicles.