Croatia's Brodosplit yard has signed a new deal with US owner Quark Expeditions for a polar cruiseship.
The vessel is costing EUR 110m ($130m) and will be delivered for the 2020 arctic season in the third quarter.
"In order to both keep up with demand and continue pushing the boundaries of exploration we will need to continue to expand our fleet," the company told TradeWinds.
"We are open to all our options. Buying ships, chartering them, or building them."
The yard said the ship will be the most luxurious polar vessel in the world, housing 200 passengers and a crew of 116.
It will be 128 metres long and 21.5 metres wide, with a speed of 16 knots.
Brodosplit CEO Tomislav Debeljak said the contract showed the yard has been recognised as being able to build very complex ships.
Singapore's Sembcorp Marine said its subsidiary LMG Marin will design the vessel.
Sembcorp Marine CEO Wong Weng Sun said: “We are pleased that LMG Marin has won its first polar expedition cruise ship design contract.
"This major milestone reinforces the company’s arctic ship design capabilities which, coupled with Sembcorp Marine’s engineering expertise, will be critical to our future business opportunities and growth."
