MSC Cruises and STX France signed an order for the construction of a fifth Meraviglia-class cruise ship. Due to be delivered in 2023, this vessel will be equipped with a new generation of dual-fuel engines designed to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). She will also use other environmental technologies, including an advanced wastewater treatment system compliant with regulatory standards set by the International Maritime Organization.
The new vessel is the 13th under MSC Cruises’ 10-year, $13.5 billion growth plan, and represents an additional investment of $1.06 billion. The ship will have the same dimensions as MSC Cruises’ Meraviglia-Plus vessels, with a slightly higher deadweight and displacement due to the heavier LNG-powered dual-fuel engines.
The announcement of the new ship was made at a ceremony held at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard in the presence of Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister of the Economy and Finance. STX France and MSC Cruises celebrated three ship building milestones: the steel cutting ceremony of the fourth Meraviglia-class vessel where MSC Cruises announced that the ship will be named MSC Virtuosa, the coin ceremony of MSC Grandiosa and the float-out of MSC Bellissima.
For the first time in Saint-Nazaire’s history, three cruise ships belonging to a single cruise brand are under simultaneous construction at the shipyard. MSC Bellissima will be christened at a ceremony in Southampton on March 2, 2019 while MSC Grandiosa will be christened in Hamburg in November 2019.
MSC Cruises has achieved 800 percent growth in its first ten years. Under its 10-year investment plan, the line’s fleet is set to expand to 25 mega-cruise ships by 2026. The MSC Cruises fleet currently comprises 15 ships.
For more, visit www.msccruisesusa.com.
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