MSC Cruises Firms Order for Two More LNG-Fuelled Ships
MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique have signed firm contracts for construction of the line's third and fourth LNG-powered MSC World Class ships.
The new ships are to be delivered in 2025 and 2027. The first of the initial two ships in the class is currently under construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire and is due to enter service in 2022. With 205,000 GT, she will become the biggest vessel operated by a European cruise line as well as the first LNG-powered cruise ship built in France.
These contracts represent a capital investment by MSC Cruises exceeding EUR two billion.
MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique also extended their partnership over the next decade with two additional projects. First, the companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of a new prototype class of LNG-powered cruise ships to operate under the MSC Cruises brand. For this project, MSC Cruises, the shipyard and other partners will focus on developing emerging environmental technologies in line with IMO’s vision for 2030 and 2050. The four vessels in this new class would represent a capital investment exceeding EUR four billion.
A second MoU sees MSC Cruises partnering with Chantiers de l’Atlantique in the development of yet another innovative prototype ship class concept with which they will explore opportunities that wind power and other advanced technologies could bring to passenger shipping.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises, said: “The three agreements signed today extend our investment plan up to 2030. They stem from an exceptional partnership, with Chantiers de l’Atlantique, that has already delivered 15 highly-innovative innovative cruise ships over the past two decades and will see many more vessels come to life at Saint-Nazaire’s docks in the next 10 years. They also confirm this industry’s commitment to environmental sustainability, in this case helping the French national industry further position itself as a world leader in the development of next-generation technologies and other solutions.”
On January 1, 2020 MSC Cruises became the first major cruise line to achieve carbon neutral fleet operations. As today’s most advanced environmental technology alone is insufficient to reach that, while it works to minimize and continuously reduce its environmental footprint MSC Cruises is offsetting all CO2 emissions from its fleet that it is not be possible to abate through such technology through carbon offset projects.
MSC Cruises’ MSC World Class ships specifications:
• Gross tonnage: 205,700 GT
• Lower berth capacity: 5,264
• Maximum number of passengers: 6,761
• Crew members: 2,139
• Number of cabins: 2,632
• Length / Beam / Height: 333.3m / 47m / 68m