MSC Cruises Orders One More Meraviglia Ship

MSC Cruises has unveiled an order for the construction of a fifth Meraviglia class cruise ship.

The cruise company signed the order with French shipbuilder STX France on June 14, 2018.

The announcement was made at a ceremony held at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard where the duo celebrated three shipbuilding milestones – the steel cutting ceremony of the second Meraviglia-Plus class vessel MSC Virtuosa, the coin ceremony of MSC Grandiosa and the float out of MSC Bellissima.

The newly-ordered Meraviglia class vessel brings the number of MSC Cruises’ LNG-powered ships on order to five.

Three MSC Cruises’ ships are now under simultaneous construction at STX France as the construction on MSC Virtuosa has begun.

“Our fifth Meraviglia class cruise ship will bring a new generation of (…) environmental technology to the market, benefiting from a new generation of LNG-powered engines. This will help us further reduce our environmental footprint and advance in our journey of constant improvement. She will be joined at sea by up to four World Class LNG-powered ships, as part of our overall commitment to environmental stewardship through this and other next-generation technologies and solutions deployed fleet-wide,” Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, commented.

As informed, the agreement for the additional Meraviglia-Plus ship represents an additional investment of EUR 900 million.