Tag Archives: Saint-Nazaire

MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique celebrate milestones

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MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique celebrate milestones

MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique have celebrated two milestones for the construction of the cruise line’s next generation of vessels. 

MSC World Europa was floated out for the first time at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. Meanwhile, a traditional coin ceremony took place as the keel was laid for MSC Euribia, with Anne Claire Juventin, who is responsible for quality control at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, and Valentina Mancini, brand manager from MSC Cruises, performing the role of godmothers. 

MSC World Europa and MSC Euribia will become the first LNG-powered vessels to join the MSC Cruises fleet next year, with the construction on MSC World Europa II due to commence in early 2023. The three newbuilds represent an investment of €3 billion ($3.39 billion) by the cruise line. 

“Today is another important milestone in our journey towards net zero emissions by 2050 for our marine operations,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises. “We have a lot more to do but I am pleased that despite all that we have faced from the pandemic over the last two years, we have still been able to achieve with our partners at Chantiers de L’Atlantique the launch of these new LNG vessels – the first ever made in France.” 

Chantiers de l’Atlantique and MSC Cruises also confirmed that a fuel cell pilot plant known as Blue Horizon will also be installed onboard MSC World Europa. The plant will produce electricity from the ship’s LNG fuel through electrochemical reactions at its electrodes, unlike currently installed engine generators which produce electricity through fuel combustion.  

The fuel cell technology selected by Chantiers de l’Atlantique and MSC Cruises is the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) developed by Bloom Energy. The SOFC uses ceramic materials, allowing operation at temperatures of up to 800C at the core of the fuel cell. This allows for electrical efficiency of around 60 per cent and provides the opportunity to recover significant heat from the exhausts, which will bring the overall efficiency of the system close to 90 per cent. The Blue Horizon pilot plant installed onboard MSC World Europa will consist of two 75-kilowatt modules. 

The technology will be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent compared to conventional dual-fuel engines, without producing nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide or particulate matter emissions. SOFC is also compatible with a range of fuels, including bio or synthetic LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen. The operational data and technical feedback from the ship will be provided to Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Bloom Energy to enable improvements of the technology in the future. 

“With MSC World Europa, we have designed and built a cruise ship with an outstanding level of performance and efficiency,” said Laurent Castaing, general manager of Chantiers de l’Atlantique. “The integration of this fuel cell demonstrator allows us to take a major step forward and imagine what the cruise ship of the future will be like.” 

MSC World Europa has now been moved to a wet dock for work to continue ahead of her scheduled delivery in November 2022. The ship will spend her inaugural season in the Gulf region offering seven-night cruises from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Construction will continue on MSC Euribia, with a global design contest for artists to create artwork for the ship’s hull inspired by the sea and the marine ecosystem.

MSC Virtuosa Gains RINA’s ‘Watchful Security’ Certification

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MSC Virtuosa just entering the River Mersey, Liverpool. Photo credit Dave Jones.

MSC Cruises has announced that it has received classification society RINA’s ‘Watchful’ certification of technology qualification for the security system (CCTV) onboard its flagship, the MSC Virtuosa.

According to a press release, the process consists of the validation of novel technology – or an existing one applied to a new environment – to verify, among other requirements, its fitness for purpose, its safety and reliability, and its compliance with the regulatory framework.

The 181,000-ton MSC Virtuosa was delivered earlier this year by shipbuilders Chantiers de l’Atlantique of Saint-Nazaire, France. Following her maiden season this summer in British waters, the MSC Virtuosa will be deployed for winter 2021/22 in the Gulf region and homeport in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates where the ship be named on Nov. 27.

MSC said that the ‘Watchful’ certification is based on the system’s compliance assessment with the applicable international guidelines and RINA’s standards and follows thorough technical analysis to ascertain that the CCTV system is “flawlessly integrated” with the compulsory mooring and docking camera system.

RINA’s certification also verified MSC Virtuosa’s CCTV systems’ compliance with MSC Cruises’ safety and security operational requirements to support the crew in the identification of problems that might occur onboard.

According to the press release, the CCTV network configuration and the “excellent coverage, quality and reliability” allow the collection of evidence in the event of an incident or investigation undertaken by both the cruise line and any relevant external authorities. The number of TV cameras has been reduced thanks to the optimization study of ‘blind spots’ and the comprehensive footage monitoring of restricted areas.

Coin ceremony held for MSC Cruises’ first LNG-powered ship

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Construction Begins on 205,700 Gross Ton MSC Europa

The traditional coin ceremony has taken place for MSC Cruises’ first liquified natural gas-powered ship, MSC World Europa.

The ceremony, which is a historical sign of blessing at the start of a ship-building process, took place at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire on Monday.

The 200,000-plus gross ton MSC World Europa is scheduled to enter service in 2022 and will be “one of most technologically- and environmentally-advanced LNG-powered cruise vessels in its class”, the line said.

Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises, said: “MSC World Europa is further proof of our commitment to environmental stewardship as she is set to reduce carbon emissions even further than many other existing cruise ships powered by LNG, which is currently the most environmentally-friendly fuel for commercial maritime operations.

“With this vessel, we also reconfirm our belief in investing in advanced environmental technology to meet our long-term goal of zero emissions from operations.”

Laurent Castaing, general manager of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, added: “We are proud to start the building of a ship which will set the standards for the cruise of the future. This is a major milestone in the history of our 20-year cooperation with MSC Cruises, which has already resulted in some of the most innovative cruise ships ever built.”

MSC Europa Itinerary, Current Position, Ship Review | CruiseMapper

MSC World Europa will feature a new 50-kilowatt demonstrator system that incorporates solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology and uses LNG to produce electricity and heat onboard, the first time an LNG-powered fuel cell has been used on a cruise ship.

The line says the system will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by about 30% compared with a conventional LNG engine, with no emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides or fine particles.

MSC World Europa will also feature a new generation wastewater treatment system and other “cutting-edge environmental technology”.

MSC Cruises’ new flagship MSC Virtuosa is currently under construction in Saint-Nazaire and is due for delivery in 2020. The company also has firm orders with Chantiers de l’Atlantique for two additional LNG-powered ships, once each for the MSC World and Meraviglia classes of ships.