by InTrieste
Delivered on Wednesday, 16 November, in Monfalcone, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Salvini, MSC Cruises’ 21st ship is the largest built in Italy and features important innovations from an environmental perspective.
A €7 billion investment plan is in place with Fincantieri for the construction of 10 ships, four of which have already been delivered for the MSC Cruises brand, and six are set for Explora Journeys.
Following the ship’s official naming ceremony on 7 December in New York, MSC Seascape will represent ‘Made in Italy’ excellence in the Caribbean, offering weekly sailings from Miami.
MSC Group’s Cruise Division today officially took delivery from Fincantieri of its new flagship MSC Seascape in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility, Hon. Matteo Salvini.The vessel is the 21st to join the MSC Cruises fleet and MSC Seascape is the fourth to have been built by Fincantieri as part of a €7 billion investment package for 10 ships. The shipyard will also build six new vessels for MSC’s luxury travel brand, Explora Journeys.
MSC Seascape is the largest and most technologically advanced cruise ship ever built in Italy and features important innovations from an environmental perspective.The handover ceremony, held at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard, was attended by Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Anna Maria Cisint, Mayor of Monfalcone, Admiral Nicola Carlone, Commandant of the Port Authorities, Gianluigi Aponte, Founder and Chairman of the MSC Group, Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of the MSC Group’s Cruise Division, the ship’s godmother Zoe Africa Vago, for Fincantieri General Claudio Graziano and Pierroberto Folgiero, Chairman and CEO, and Luigi Matarazzo, General Manager Merchant Ships Division, as well as representatives of the MSC newbuild team along with managers and workers from the shipyard.
Paying tribute to ancient seafaring traditions, Monfalcone shipyard director Cristiano Bazzara, presented MSC Seascape’s captain, Roberto Leotta, with an ampoule containing the first water that touched the hull when the ship was floated out a year ago.A poignant and moving tribute of remembrance was paid by all attending the ceremony to Dr. Giuseppe Bono, who for 20 years until May 2022 was CEO of Fincantieri and who passed away on 8th November. Pierfrancesco Vago announced that on MSC Seascape, which represents the last major project undertaken by Dr. Bono with MSC Cruises, a plaque named in his honour will be placed in the ship.
Naming ceremony in New York, two Caribbean itineraries
MSC Seascape will begin her inaugural season in the United States, where she will be christened on 7th December in New York. She will then move to the Caribbean, offering two different weekly itineraries departing from Miami. The first, in the eastern Caribbean, will sail to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Nassau (Bahamas), San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic). The second itinerary, in the western Caribbean, will call at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Cozumel (Mexico), George Town (Cayman Islands) and Ocho Rios (Jamaica).
Latest and most advanced environmental technology
MSC Cruises has always been committed to operate some of the world’s most technologically-advanced cruise ships, and this innovation also applies to environmental performance. With the long-term goal of achieving net-zero carbon cruising by 2050, each new MSC cruise ship represents another step towards this goal, along with other investments to help accelerate the development of next-generation environmental technologies. MSC Seascape features state-of-the-art technologies and equipment to minimise the ship’s environmental impact. This includes cutting-edge hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) and selective catalytic reduction systems (SCR), achieving a 98% reduction of sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions and reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 90%. The wastewater treatment system is designed in line with the International Maritime Organization’s MEPC 227(64) Resolution and achieves higher purification standards than most wastewater treatment plants ashore.
