MSC Cruises and STX France have today signed an order for the construction of a fifth Meraviglia-class cruise ship.
Scheduled for delivery in 2023, this vessel will be equipped with a new generation of fuel engines designed to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). It will also feature other innovative environmental technologies, including an advanced wastewater treatment system that meets the strictest regulatory standards worldwide, including the provisions set out in Resolution MEPC.227 for the Baltic Sea.
The recent order for the fifth Meraviglia-class ship means that MSC Cruises now has a total of five LNG-powered ships.
This announcement was made at an exclusive ceremony held at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard, attended by Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister of the Economy and Finance. STX France and MSC Cruises celebrated three important milestones in shipbuilding: the steel-cutting ceremony for the fourth Meraviglia-class ship, during which MSC Cruises announced the ship's name as MSC Virtuosa; the coin-cutting ceremony for MSC Grandiosa; and the float-out of MSC Bellissima. For the first time in the Saint-Nazaire shipyard's history, three cruise ships belonging to the same company are being built simultaneously.
In a statement made before opening the valves to flood the dry dock where MSC Bellissima, Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises, commented: “With the announcement of another new ship, the 13th built under our 10-year investment plan, we are reaffirming our commitment to the company’s sustainable growth. This is especially significant considering that three other state-of-the-art MSC Cruises ships are currently under construction.”
Currently, three MSC Cruises ships are being built simultaneously at STX France, and construction of MSC Virtuosa has already begun.
Vago added: “Our fifth Meraviglia-class cruise ship will bring a new generation of modern environmental technology to the market, taking advantage of a new generation of LNG-powered engines. This will help us further reduce our environmental impact and advance our continuous improvement project. In addition to this model, we will also have four other LNG-powered World Class ships sailing, in line with our overall commitment to environmental management through this and other state-of-the-art technologies and solutions deployed across the fleet.”
The agreement for this new Meraviglia-Plus ship represents an additional investment of 900 million euros.
Fifth Meraviglia-class cruise ship and first two World-class ships
Specs
Regarding MSC Cruises' fifth Meraviglia-class ship: The newly ordered ship will have the same dimensions as MSC Cruises' two Meraviglia-Plus ships, with a slightly higher deadweight and displacement due to the heavier LNG-powered dual-fuel engines.
- Overall length: 331.430 m
- Length between perpendiculars: 310.7 m
- Track length: 43
- Design draft (molded): 8.4 m
- Draft of scantlings (moulded): 8.75 m
- Gross tonnage: Approximately 183,500 TB
- Air draft: 65.1 m
- Engines: LNG-powered, dual-fuel engines
- Service speed: 21.4 knots
- Passenger cabins: 2408
- Maximum number of passengers: 6335
- Crew: 1704
- Lifesaving devices: 8039
About MSC Cruises' first two World-class cruise ships:
- Length/Beam/Height: 333.3 m/47 m/68 m
- Gross tonnage: Approximately 205,700 TB
- LNG-powered engines, dual-fuel engines
- Service speed: 21.8 knots
- Passenger cabins: 2632
- Maximum number of passengers: 6774
- Crew: 2126
- Lifesaving devices: 8900
