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MSC Cruises to open private island in Persian Gulf

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MSC plans to open Sir Bani Yas Island Beach Oasis in December.

Rick Sasso, president of MSC Cruises USA, said a new private island that MSC plans to open in December off the coast of Abu Dhabi is a sign of the company’s global reach.

The island, called Sir Bani Yas Island Beach Oasis, includes about 1.5 miles of beachfront on a barrier island. It will offer horseback riding, water sports, and a dhow tour around the island, among other attractions. “It’s not just a beach with cabanas,” Sasso said.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species. “It will be a huge attraction because it’s unique to the region,” Sasso said.

“We’re thinking very globally now,” said Sasso, noting that MSC has a “pause” between ship deliveries that has allowed it to focus on some off-ship projects.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species.

MSC has 11 ships on order. The next to be delivered is MSC Maraviglia, due a year from now.

“We’ve got to start putting in some stronger anchors beyond the Mediterranean,” Sasso said. “South America was one of those, for the past 10 years. China has opened up as of two months ago. And North America is now getting a swarm of attention with the Divina here year-round and the Seaside coming.”

Sir Bani Yas is the second private island announced by MSC in recent months. It previously disclosed plans for a large private island with extensive facilities in Bimini for use by its ships deployed in the Caribbean.

The island off the southwest coast of Abu Dhabi will initially host passengers from the MSC Fantasia. MSC has been working with the Abu Dhabi Port Authority for about two years to bring the project to fruition.

Report: MSC in talks to acquire a private island near Bimini

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MSC Cruises may be in the process of acquiring an island in the Bahamas for use as a private destination, according to comments made by a Bahamian minister.

A private island would fill a competitive gap in MSC’s Caribbean product with other major cruise lines there, all of which have their own islands as part of their itineraries.

To date, MSC has not had enough ships sailing from South Florida to justify its own stop in the Bahamas. But starting in 2017 it will have a new ship, the MSC Seaside, sailing Caribbean itineraries in addition to the MSC Divina, which currently sails from Miami.

Ken Muskat, MSC’s executive vice president for sales, public relations and guest services, said he couldn’t comment on the possibility, saying, “It all has been pure speculation thus far.”

Buzz about an MSC private island intensified after Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie brought up the project in a communication to the House of Assembly in late November.

Christie said MSC is considering an island about 20 miles south of Bimini known locally as Ocean Cay.

“We are negotiating an [agreement] now that they’re going to put a new destination there, hire Bahamians, and as a result of approval they will also start an academy to train Bahamians in Freeport,” Christie was quoted as saying in the Nassau Guardian newspaper.

He said the budget for developing Ocean Cay as a cruise port ranges between $100 million and $200 million.

Ocean Cay covers 95 acres and was built through a dredge-and-fill process in 1970 as a base for a sand-mining operation. It was recently discussed as a site for a liquefied natural gas import terminal.