The 8,770-ton tall ship Golden Horizon has been sold for €110 million and is now en route from Split, Croatia to Valletta, Malta, where it is scheduled to arrive on September 25, 2026, according to AIS ship-tracking data and local Croatian press reports.

Croatian outlet Jutarni.hr said earlier this month that the vessel was sold to a Swiss shipowner that already operates roughly 100 ships. The buyer has not been publicly identified, leaving trade partners and charter prospects with limited visibility on commercial intent.

Brodosplit spokesperson Josip Jurišić confirmed the departure and the destination. "Most likely to be cleaned of fouling due to the standstill," Jurišić said. He added that the ship carries no sanctions, otherwise it would not have been permitted to leave the yard.

What does the ship bring to its new owner?

The 300-passenger Golden Horizon is one of the larger square-rigged cruise vessels afloat. Originally ordered by Star Clippers as the Flying Clipper, the hull was completed at the Brodosplit Shipyard but never delivered to its intended operator. The vessel sat at the yard for years before a short charter to Tradewind Voyages in 2020.

Tradewind Voyages marketed the Golden Horizon as a flagship of a small-ship, sail-powered product. The startup collapsed in 2022, returning the ship to layup at Brodosplit. The handover to a buyer with a 100-vessel fleet suggests a redistribution of capacity to an owner positioned to absorb a high-deck-area, low-density unit.

What does the route from Split to Valletta signal?

The September 25 arrival date in Valletta places the ship inside one of the Mediterranean's most active ship-management and refit hubs. Malta's register handles a substantial share of global cruise tonnage, and Valletta's infrastructure routinely absorbs vessels between commercial assignments.

For travel sellers, the movement indicates a working commercial transition rather than continued cold layup. Once cleared, the Golden Horizon becomes available for charter, sale-leaseback, or deployment under a branded product.

What is the new owner getting into the market with?

The 110 million euro price reflects a depreciated asset with refurbishment costs ahead. Industry resale benchmarks for laid-up small-ship cruise tonnage typically run well below newbuild, but the Golden Horizon's rig configuration narrows the buyer pool. The Swiss owner's existing fleet scale reduces single-asset concentration risk.

Refit scope remains unconfirmed. Cleaning of biofouling, the most likely first step, points to a return-to-service path. No charter contract, brand identity, or deployment region has been disclosed.

What else is Brodosplit working on?

Brodosplit is also completing the Janssonius, a 174-passenger expedition vessel originally ordered for Oceanwide Expeditions. The ship is a sister to the 2019-built Hondius and was originally scheduled for 2021 delivery. Its delayed handover is a separate supply event for the expedition cruise segment.

How should the trade read this deal?

The Golden Horizon sale closes a long-running question for Brodosplit's order book and removes a 300-berth vessel from the layup pool. A working commercial home for a square-rigger typically means a niche, premium-positioned product rather than mass-market deployment.

The September 25 arrival in Valletta will be the first verifiable checkpoint of the buyer's operating plan. Until then, the trade can only track AIS movements and wait for the new owner's first public commercial statement.