Hijos De J Barreras, the Spanish shipbuilder, has won a contract for building a luxury cruise yacht for use by the Ritz-Carlton group, the US based luxury hotels company.

It will be operational in the fourth quarter of 2019, with a completion time of 30 months. The contract includes the option of building a second and third vessel.

On 22 June, Ritz-Carlton said it would build three large luxury cruise yachts, the first of which would enter service in 2019.

The ship, jointly designed by the owner, Tillberg Design and Barreras, will be one of the most sophisticated and elegant vessels in the world, Barreras said in a statement.

It will have an overall length of 190 m, and 23.8 m beam, and will accommodate 444 people, including 298 passengers in 149 suites and 246 crew members.

The vessel will fulfill the highest standards with regards to the comfort of guests and be intended to exclusive voyages in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Europe and the North America.

“Barreras takes its first steps in the cruise business with this extraordinary vessel. The entry into this sector, which until now was exclusive of several European factories (sic,. i.e. shipyards), opens the doors to new projects that the shipyard is currently offering,” the company said.