MSC Cruises continues to grow and orders four newbuildings – after decades of partnership with Fincantieri in Italy and Chantiers d’l Atlantique, now for the first time at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
Following initial media reports at the end of last week, it is now official. Following the investment by the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony in the Meyer Werft shipyard, which had got into financial difficulties due to the coronavirus, the new billion-euro order was announced this morning by Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche, Lower Saxony’s Minister President Olaf Lief, MSC President Pierfrancesco Vago and chief refurbisher Ralf Schmitz from Meyer Werft at a press conference in Berlin. According to the announcement, four new cruise ships will initially be built – each measuring 170,000 GT, according to information from our region. MSC Cruises has signed a binding letter of intent with Meyer Werft until 2033 and with the option for two further cruise ships to be delivered by 2035. The order is worth more than €10 billion.
The names of the ships and further details about the newbuilds are not yet known. In terms of size, the cruise ships are based on those of MSC’s “Meraviglia” class, consisting of “MSC Meraviglia” and “MSC Bellissima”, each measuring 315 m in length and 43 m in width.
Reiche emphasized that the federal and state governments stepped in at a critical point for Meyer Werft. “We have taken responsibility – out of conviction that the shipyard has a future and this has now proved to be the right decision,” said the Minister.
One construction slot remaining
The new order from MSC Cruises provides the shipyard in Lower Saxony with the urgently needed longer capacity utilization. Previously with orders from Carnival Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line until 2031, Meyer Werft is now working at full capacity until 2035. According to information from our editorial team, the last remaining construction slot with a delivery date in the fourth quarter of 2031 is also still hotly contested.
MSC Cruises, based in Geneva, has been one of the fastest-growing cruise lines for years and is part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company. The fleet currently consists of 23 ships. Under the direction of Gianluigi Aponte, the family-run company, which is also the world’s largest container shipping company, has so far had its cruise ships built at the Italian Fincantieri shipyards and at Chantiers d’l Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France. Four new “world-class” cruise ships, each with space for 6,758 passengers, are currently under construction or on order in France for MSC Cruises and four for the luxury brand Explora Journeys at Fincantieri in Italy.
An order for several gigantic cruise ships in a series that were to become the largest cruise ships in the world has not yet materialized at the Meyer Turku shipyard of the Papenburg shipbuilding family. Construction slots for further “Icon Class” ships were secured by the US shipping company Royal Caribbean International as part of a 10-year cooperation.
This and the decades-long relationship with the cruise shipyards in France and Italy make the Swiss shipping company’s award of the contract to Papenburg a special case. In addition, never before in the history of cruise ship construction in Emsland has a new customer ordered four newbuildings in the first batch. (CA)
