MSC Cruises has confirmed the order of two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessels with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
This sees the two MSC Cruises World Class options confirmed as firm orders with an option for a fifth ship. The two new ordered vessels – currently referred to as World Class 3 and 4 – will be delivered in 2026 and 2027.
MSC World Europa and MSC World America are already the most energy-efficient ships in the industry.
Both ships are performing significantly better than the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) requirement.
The new ships will be an evolution of the state-of-the-art World Class prototype with innovative solutions to maximise the energy efficiency, with extensive use of heat recovery and other technological solutions, which will see the vessels having an even further reduced carbon footprint.
In addition, the new ships will be ready for a variety of alternative fuels including bio and synthetic methane and green methanol.
They will also be fitted with the next generation dual fuel internal combustion engines with reduced methane slip.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises, said: “We are proud to continue our 20-year partnership with the Chantiers de l’Atlantique, with whom we have already built 18 ships with our 19th under construction.
“The World Class is a truly innovative prototype and together we are building some of the most advanced ships in the world.
“We are committed to researching and investing in future environmental technologies as they become available, to ensure we continue progressing on our decarbonisation journey to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”
The new World Class vessels will feature shore power plug-in connectivity to reduce carbon emissions in port and the most advanced wastewater treatment systems designed in line with the IMO.
They will also feature new advances in waste management, and a comprehensive range of onboard energy-efficient equipment to optimise engine use and hotel energy needs to further reduce emissions.
The two new orders will be subject to access to financing, as per industry practice.
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