MSC Cruises is celebrating the completion of their construction milestones for two new ships, MSC Meraviglia and MSC Divina. The luxury cruise line says that they are “well on track” with a planned delivery date in 2020. In addition to building these two vessels, MSC had also just finished expanding its existing fleet by adding three new 1,500+-guest ships: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Donatello,.
MSC Cruises and the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard recently achieved two key milestones for the line’s newbuilds.
On December 2, the keel for MSC Euribia was laid in conjunction with the ship’s annual coin ceremony. As godmothers representing the ship owner and shipbuilder, Anne Claire Juventin of Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Valentina Mancini of MSC Cruises performed the traditional maritime ritual of placing two coins under the keel as a historical sign of blessing and good fortune for the vessel and her operational life at sea.
MSC World Europa was also floated out to the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, where she has now been transported to a wet dock where work will continue until November 2022, when she will be delivered.
(MSC Cruises provided this image.)
The first ship of MSC’s new World-class, the World Europa, has a range of never-before-seen themes and creative locations unlike anything else at sea. The design has a Y-shaped aft that leads to a 341-foot-long Europa Promenade with ocean views that is half-open, half-covered. The Venom Drop @ The Spiral, an 11-deck-high slide that will be the world’s longest at sea, will be visible from balcony staterooms.
Next year, MSC World Europa and MSC Euribia will join the MSC Cruises fleet as the first LNG-powered ships.
They are critical to MSC’s goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. LNG is the cleanest maritime fuel presently accessible at scale, essentially eliminating local air pollutants including sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulates.
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MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, Pierfrancesco Vago, remarked, “Today represents another crucial milestone in our drive towards net zero emissions for our maritime operations by 2050.”
“We are reporting substantial construction achievements in not just one but two of our next generation LNG-powered boats, bringing us even closer to our goal of an emissions-free cruise industry, after billions of euros of investment.” LNG is at the forefront of the historic energy transformation we must make since it is the cleanest fuel presently accessible at scale for our operations.”
Euribia MSC (Rendering courtesy of MSC Cruises)
MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique announced today that a fuel cell pilot plant would be installed aboard MSC World Europa, dubbed Blue Horizon, marking the first time an LNG-powered fuel cell has been employed on a cruise ship.
The system will convert LNG into electricity at one of the greatest efficiencies of any power solution now available, generating both electricity and heat on board.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the two ships that operates when the MSC Cruises entered the cruise business?
Who builds MSC cruise ships?
A: MSC Cruises is a cruise company based in Italy. They are the owners of three cruise ships, which they build and maintain themselves.
