The ship is 162 metres long and 18.5 metres wide and has five masts with 36 cross sails, totaling an area of 6,345 square metres. Up to 324 guests can be accommodated in 140 staterooms distributed across six decks.
The ship was originally ordered by Swedish cruise operator Star Clippers in 2014 but was never able to enter service with the customer due to a legal dispute with Brodosplit.
The ship, while still named Flying Clipper, was completed by Brodosplit in the summer of 2019. However, Brodosplit cancelled the sale of the vessel in August of that year due to Star Clippers’ “failure to meet contractual obligations.”
The shipyard had cited the buyer’s delay in securing some key vessel components and the corresponding technical documentation and its having, “unjustifiably activated bank funding [that] included a €12 million (then US$14 million) state guarantee.” These actions are said to have resulted in the postponement of delivery by almost two years.
Flying Clipper was sold to UK-based Tradewind Voyages, but the latter was also unable to operate the ship as she had been seized by UK authorities due to the then-ongoing legal dispute between Star Clippers and Brodosplit.