MSC Returns to Chantiers de l'Atlantique: Order LNG-Powered

Photo courtesy Chantiers de l’Atlantique/MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises hsa returned to the France’s Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard for two more LNG-powered cruise ships worth over 2 billion euros.

The two parties on Monday announced that a firm contract has been signed for the construction of two additional MSC World Class ships scheduled for delivery in 2025 and 2027.

The inaugural cruise ship in MSC World Class is already under construction at Chantiers’ shipyard in Saint-Nazaire and is due to enter service in 2022. At 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.

In a joint press release, the two companies said the new contracts represent a capital investment exceeding 2 billion euros and will generate 14 million additional working hours for the yard and its suppliers, amounting to 2,400 full-time-equivalent jobs over the next three and a half years.

In addition to the contracts, MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique have also announced the extending of their partnership through the end of the decade, with a signed memorandum of understanding for the development of an all-new prototype class of LNG-powered cruise ships. For this project, the two companies will focus on developing technologies in-line with the International Maritime Organization’s initial strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships and its 2030 and 2050 emission reduction targets.

A second MoU has also been signed that will see MSC Cruises partnering with Chantiers de l’Atlantique on the development another prototype ship class concept that will explore the use of wind power and other technologies that could be utilized in the cruise ship market.

“The three agreements signed today extend our investment plan up to 2030,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises. “They stem from an exceptional partnership, with Chantiers, 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 ten years. They also confirm that 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.”