Whangarei firm wins contract to outfit luxury vessel in Croatia
A Northland company has, with help from Treasury, been awarded a contract to outfit a 120 metre luxury passenger vessel in Croatia.
A Northland company has, with help from Treasury, been awarded a contract to outfit a 120 metre luxury passenger vessel in Croatia.
A Northland company has, with help from Treasury, been awarded a contract to outfit a 120 metre luxury passenger vessel in Croatia.
The vessel’s hull and superstructure is lying alongside the Arista yard in Split, Croatia.
Arista Marine and sub-contractor Specialist Marine Interiors (SMI) will completely outfit the vessel, including the luxury passenger’s interior. SMI will build the interior in their Whangarei factory and freight the components to Croatia for installation
Grant Willis, SMI chief executive said the project will represent two years of work for up to 90 SMI staff.
"The project will also involve many other New Zealand suppliers subcontracting to both Arista Marine and SMI and has a significant value (in the tens of millions of euros) providing a substantial boost to New Zealand’s industry, particularly in the Northern Region.”
He said the project was won with support from the New Zealand Export Credit Office (NZECO) - a Treasury unit that offers financial guarantees to exporters and banks, to support deals the private sector lacks the capacity for. In this case, the NZECO is supporting a loan provided by Barclays Capital to the project’s international owner, by underwriting the loan repayments by the owner.
“Without their support, this project would have been lost to Arista, SMI and New Zealand," Mr Willis said.