Tag Archives: stx france

Cruise ship global capacity set to soar

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Norwegian Bliss Concept Drawing.

The current unprecedented cruise orderbook represents another 250,000 berths the global cruise fleet in the 10 years from 2015 to 2025 – increasing capacity by a huge 40 per cent.

Seatrade Cruise’s new whitepaper The Future of Cruise Ships added that these figures were set to leap further – as with further orders inevitably being placed for deliveries within the second half of that 10-year span, fleet capacity would probably grow at least 50 per cent and push the global passenger total up from 24 million last year to 30 million by 2022, towards 35 million by 2026 and then 40 million by 2030.

The whitepaper places the orderbook (as of July 2017) at 75 firm ocean-going ship orders and a handful of options with a combined price-tag approaching US$47.6 billion.

It points out that the orderbook is still dominated by the big three in Europe: Fincantieri, Meyer Werft and STX France.

Cruise ship global capacity set to soar

Cruise ship capacity will keep soaring – while the luxury cruise sector’s growth has been boosted
Fincantieri (including Vard) is building 29 of the 75 due for delivery by 2025; Meyer Werft in Germany and Finland is contracted for 17; STX France for 12; and the new grouping owned by Genting Hong Kong, MV Werften, for six. The final 11 are being built by smaller shipyards.

A growing trend singled out by the whitepaper is the luxury/expedition market sector. It said that there have been some signs of increased interest in building and operating ships of a smaller size offering a luxury product on more adventurous itineraries. “This is because these can command much higher prices than either standard luxury cruises or the traditionally more basic expedition vessels,” it said.

Indeed, Seatrade Cruise’s whitepaper shows that there are 30 luxury cruise ships on the global orderbook. Their increase can be traced from none being delivered in 2014, to two last year and this year – rising sharply to six in 2019.

STX France’s groundbreaking collaboration with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Edge

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STX France’s groundbreaking collaboration with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Edge

STX France has launched an ongoing monitoring services programme with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Edge

STX France and Royal Caribbean have launched a partnership that allows ongoing monitoring by the shipyard to ensure energy efficient solutions are in optimal use on Harmony of the Seas. This is also to be rolled out to the Celebrity Cruises’ Edge-class vessels being built by the shipyard, and other ships in Royal Caribbean Cruises’ fleet.

The groundbreaking collaboration on Harmony of the Seas – which has not been carried out between a shipyard and cruise ship operator before – has led to 5% fuel savings on the cruise ship, which was delivered last year. The monitoring agenda has its foundations in STX France’s Ecorizon, a research and development programme launched in 2007 to create more environmentally friendly and energy efficient ships.

STX France Ecorizon R&D project manager and energy efficiency manager for Harmony of the Seas and Celebrity Edge-class, Arnaud Jacques told Passenger Ship Technology “We took this approach to help Royal Caribbean reach the best energy efficiency level possible. Normally the work of a shipyard stops after delivery but we believe that it is very crucial to share all this knowledge and expertise we have built up.”

He said this is what propelled STX France to go further than the usual scope of shipbuilder to deliver not just a ship that was “designed well but one designed to operate well”.

The monitoring services sees STX France following the ship year after year and see what works, what does not work as expected and looking at what can be improved (in terms of energy efficiency). A very important part of it is to train the crew how to check equipment and maintain the level of knowledge about how the ship works and maintain best practice. This is especially important as crews change frequently. The training takes place twice a year. STX France also gives Royal Caribbean weekly updates and analysis on the back of its monitoring services.

Mr Jacques said “We plan to continue co-operation with Royal Caribbean next year following other ships; they want to have a great benchmark for their fleet and make sure the ships run at an optimal energy performance.” He wasn’t able to say at this stage which ships these would be.

Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge will also undergo the same monitoring services when it is delivered at the end of 2018.

MSC and STX France Firm Up LNG Cruise Order

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World Class
MSC Cruises’ World Class

At the MSC Meraviglia Flag Ceremony, MSC Cruises and STX France signed a new memorandum of understanding firming up the order of two 200,000-ton, LNG-powered mega cruise ships, with options for two additional vessels.

The letter of intent was signed last year.

The four ships will become MSC Cruises’ World Class, according to a statement.

The signing took place in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, and Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy.

The new ships will be equipped with a completely new generation of LNG-powered engines as well as a new generation waste water treatment system, said MSC.

MSC Cruises’ World Class cruise ships will feature 2,760 staterooms and a maximum occupancy of 6,850 guests, the highest passenger capacity in the cruise fleet. The vessels, which will be delivered in 2022 and 2024 – the options are for 2025 and 2026 – will have a length of 1,083 ft. and 154 ft. of beam.

Speaking at the MSC Meraviglia Flag Ceremony, Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, said: “Today, as we unveil MSC Meraviglia, a new vessel that marks the start of the next phase of our growth, we are delighted to confirm another key component of our ten-year investment plan: the World Class. These new vessels will further expand our partnership with STX France all the way to 2026, with up to seven additional innovative ships to be built during this period.”

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STX France’s CEO Laurent Castaing commented: “Once again, MSC Cruises has chosen to put their trust in our capacity to support their growth and expansion as well as in our ability to conceive, develop and build the world’s most modern and technologically-advanced cruise ships. By adding the new World Class to the four previous ship classes that we have delivered over the past 15 years, the number of vessels in their fleet built by STX France in Saint-Nazaire is set to reach 20. Our exceptional industrial partnership continues to benefit an entire region.”

The World Class’ futuristic “Y” shape structure will enable panoramic sea views and increase the proportion of balcony cabins.

The ships’ G bow (vertically positioned at a 90 degree angle) has been designed to improve stability, hydrodynamics as well as to enhance guest comfort. Other guest-centric innovations include family-friendly villages, a panoramic aft, and a glass pool lounge.