Tag Archives: MSC Cruises

Abu Dhabi Unveils Cruise Terminal Design 

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Video: Abu Dhabi Unveils Cruise Terminal

The concept design of Abu Dhabi’s planned permanent cruise passenger terminal was unveiled at Seatrade Med 2014, which took place from 16-18 September in Barcelona, Spain. The model was showcased by Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) following an international design competition and extensive industry stakeholder input.

ADPC was at Seatrade Med with an Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) delegation in the emirate’s first dedicated ‘Cruise Abu Dhabi’ international promotion.ADPC and TCA Abu Dhabi presented the new building concept, which was chosen following an international design competition, with the help of a scale model and a video ‘fly-through’ which shows the facilities and style of the new building.

Ground clearance for construction of the terminal is underway.Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi said prior to the Seatrade 2014: “This is the first time ADPC has promoted Cruise Abu Dhabi at an international event, all of the top cruise lines will be represented, along with thousands of people from the wider travel industry. This exhibition will be a good opportunity to mix with key decision makers, our new terminal plans are already attracting a lot of attention, demonstrating how very serious we are about developing this important market for the emirate.”

Video; New cruise terminal Abu Dhabi

Press Release; September 22, 2014

Russia Eyes Construction of Cruise Terminal in Pionersky

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Russia Eyes Construction of Cruise Terminal in Pionersky

Within the framework of the international economic forum Sochi-2014, Russia’s FSUE Rosmorport and cruise company MSC Cruises  signed an Agreement of Intent in Sochi on September 19, 2014 to build an international sea terminal for servicing cruise and freight/passenger ships in Pionersky (Kaliningrad Region), FSUE Rosmorport said in a release.

The document was signed by Rosmorport Director General Andrei Tarasenko, Kaliningrad Region Governor Nikolai Tsukanov and President of MSC Cruises and Grandi Navi Veloci Roberto Martinoli.

The Agreement lays ground for cooperation in designing, construction and operation of the terminal the construction of which should start in 2015.

The terminal, which is expected to cost USD 240 million to build,  is expected to aid to the improvement of tourist offer in the region.

The terminal would benefit from a unique geographical position in the Baltic Sea and, is thus, believed to attract many tourists.

The curious art of ‘stretching’ a cruise ship

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Things didn’t go entirely to plan when Jane Archer watched the “stretching” – the pulling apart and inserting a new section – of MSC Armonia in Palermo

Video of MSC Armonia being cut in half

Over the past five days Italian shipyard workers in Palermo, Sicily, have been preparing to insert a new pre-built section of ship into an exisitng MSC cruise ship, Armonia. They have spent the past week cutting the 60,000gt vessel in half ahead of its “stretching”. The ship is cut just in front of the funnel (slightly behind the mid-way point) and then separated so the new section can be inserted. The hull is then resealed.

When completed, the ship will be 24 metres longer than before and have an additional 193 cabins.

During a visit to the yard yesterday a group of us stood in the blazing September sunshine to watch the next stage – the ship being pulled apart and a new section angled into place. The stretch should have started at 9am, but by 10am we were informed of a problem with the 22 “skid shoes” that would pull the ship’s front section forward.

Extra piece of the ship being rolled into dry dock at Palermo, Italy (photo: MSC Cruises)

The “shoes” were made by Fagioli, the Italian company responsible for uprighting the Costa Concordia last year (an operation known as parbuckling), and use a system of hydraulics to lift and pull the 14,000-ton forward section 23.7 metres along tracks at the bottom of the yard’s dry dock.

“It’s a bit like watching the ancient Egyptians using modern technology,” commented one onlooker who had flown in from Canada to see the skid shoes in action (they are to be used for moving parts of an off-shore platform his company is building in South Korea).

Suddenly there was movement. It was slow, inches at a time, with regular stops for safety checks. At the same time, the 2,200-ton new section, which was at the back of the dry dock, began to move into position.

The section was built at the shipyard, took three-and-a-half months to complete and in good maritime tradition was blessed by a madrina, or godmother. If all goes according to plan welding into place will begin on September 25 ahead of the interior refit.

The extension will not only making Armonia bigger (the additional cabins will take passenger count from 1,566 to 1,952) and add 90 balcony cabins, it will also create space for a water park, a crèche, teenager clubs and a new library. Fire safety and fuel consumption will also be improved.

These are cutting-edge technologies,” Emilio La Scala, general manager of MSC’s technical department, told me, I assume with no pun intended. “We need to upgrade these ships to stay competitive.”

MSC Armonia was cut in two and a new section inserted (photo: MSC Cruises)

Armonia’s three sister ships, Sinfonia, Opera and Lirica will all be stretched at the Palermo yard over the next 12 months. In all, the work will cost €200/£159 million – a tidy sum but significantly less than the cost of building a new ship (Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas is costing $1 billion). Each ship will take approximately nine weeks to lengthen and refit, with the new-look MSC Armonia sailing out of the shipyard on November 17.

Back at the yard progress was slow. With just a metre gap between front and back our group was called to a press conference. We returned two hours later to find that nothing had happened. The skid shoes did not malfunction; we were told, but balance technicalities took longer than expected.

“The workers are at lunch,” project manager Georgio Pollina said. “We will continue while it is light and finish tomorrow.”

As most of the media was flying out that evening, I suspect that was news for the cruise line, too.