If you’ve got $10-million or so to spare, a new company called Ocean Residences would like you to check out a luxury apartment in their new eco-friendly floating home.
Plans for Njord— described as a carbon-neutral superyacht– envision two- to six-bedroom residences priced starting at $8.5-million, with an annual maintenance fee projected to be about 4.5 per cent of the purchase price.
It’s the latest in a history of plans to build residential cruise ships. The only one currently in operation is The World that started sailing in 2002
“We are proud to announce that the M/Y Njord will be the first residential vessel to run on e-methanol and bio-methanol, giving the Njord access to Norway’s world heritage fjords and other environmentally sensitive areas,” said Kristian Stensby, chairman and CEO of Norway-based Ocean Residences.
“Although this technology comes at a cost, we are confident that this investment will pay big dividends for our shared environment, our residence owners and, ultimately, will signal to other shipowners the need to move towards carbon-neutral fuels.”
In order to begin construction, Ocean Residences needs to get commitments for at least 50 of the planned 117 residences to guarantee construction financing, Chief Strategy Officer Leif-Erik Hvide said. The company did not disclose how many residences have been contracted so far. If demand is there, Ocean Residences anticipates steel-cutting in 2023 and delivery in 2026.
The ship to be built by Germany’s Meyer Werft shipyard was originally announced as powered by liquefied natural gas, but the new plan is to run it on renewable methanol which cuts carbon dioxide emissions by up to 95 per cent and reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80 per cent. Using it eliminates sulfur dioxide and particulate matter emissions.
Njord is designed to cruise globally and has a Polar Class 6 standard and have oceanographic and atmospheric research facilities that could be operated in collaboration with scientific and academic organizations, the company says.
Njord would be registered in Norway and initially operated by V.Ships management company.
