MSC Cruises confirmation the option for two ships of class "World" and program with Chantiers de the Atlantique the construction of other four innovative units



MSC Cruises has confirmed the options with the shipbuilding group Chantiers de the Atlantique for the construction of the third and the fourth ship of class "World" and has agreed with the French navalmeccanica company the development of a new prototype of a new class of ships constituted by four naval units fed to which liquified natural gas. The three agreements, signed today to Palazzo Matignon, official residence of the French Prime Minister, represent a advanced investment to 6,5 billion euros. Moreover the two parts have undersigned a memorandum of understanding for the development of another prototype of a new class of ships, that it explores the possibility to use wind energy and other technologies to the vanguard on fleeting ships.

The ships of the Class World, of the tonnage of 205.700 tons, are long 333,3 meters, wide 47 meters, high 68 meters and can accommodate 6,761 passengers and 2,139 members of the crew. The third and fourth ship of class "World", that they will be fed to which liquified natural gas, will be delivered in 2025 and 2027. MSC Europe, before the two ships of the same class already formers, is under construction in the ship yard of Saint-Nazaire di Chantiers de the Atlantique and will enter in service in 2022 having become the larger ship pertaining to a company of European cruise and the first fed cruise ship to GNL never constructed in France. The third and fourth ship of the class represents an additional investment by MSC Cruises of the value of two billions of euro and will involve 14 million hours/job in more, for a total of beyond 2.400 places of job (full hand-Time equivalent) for next the three years and means.

With the protocol of understanding for the development of a new prototype of a new class of ships fed to GNL for MSC Cruises, the crocieristica company, the ship yard and other partner will be concentrated on the development of the last environmental technologies online with the standards agreed within the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for 2030 and 2050. The four ships of this new class will represent a advanced investment to four billions of euro to which other 30 million business hours for the work force involved in the project will correspond.

To the ceremony of the signature of the agreements they have participated Édouard Philippe, French Prime Minister, Gianluigi Aponte, founder and executive chairman of the group MSC, Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises, and Laurent Castaing, general manager of Chantiers de the Atlantique.

"The three signed agreements today - it has emphasized Pierfrancesco Vago - extend the temporal horizon of our plan of investments until 2030. The agreements are based on partnership of a long duration with Chantiers de Atlantique, that it has already seen to deliver 15 cruise ships to the vanguard in last the two decades and that it will see other ships to take life on the docks of Saint-Nazaire in next the ten years. The agreements confirm, moreover, the engagement of our section towards the environmental sustainability and allow with the crocieristica industry to place themselves as world leader in the development of technologies of last generation".

"We are - Laurent Castaing has commented - proud and indeed happy for having constructed to a profitable relationship with MSC Cruises, based on the mutual and guided confidence from the innovation spirit. We are both engaged to tomorrow giving form to the crocieristica and to the development of ships that anticipate advance environmental standards. Our companies collaborate already from twenty years and these new projects allow us to look with enthusiasm to the future".