Fincantieri to build four MSC cruise ships

All four vessels will have a gross tonnage of approximately 64,000 tonnes and 481 guest suites.

Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC’s cruises division, said: “With this now firm order, MSC is entering a new segment that bears significant potential globally. We are proud to partner again with Fincantieri for the development and construction of yet again another highly-innovative and exclusive class of ships.”

Giuseppe Bono, Fincantieri’s chief executive officer, commented: “We are proud to have achieved this important goal in less than five months from the preliminary agreement. Fincantieri’s reputation in a complex market such as the cruise one is at an all-time high.”

This announcement follows the initial signing of a memorandum of agreement between the two parties in October 2018. The contracts, subject to shipowner financing, have a total value exceeding €2bn.

The first of the four ships will be delivered by spring 2023. The remaining three will come into service one per year over the following three years.

Since starting to work with Fincantieri in 2014, MSC has also ordered four ships for its MSC Cruises brand, at a value of €3.2bn. The first two of these vessels, MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview, are already in service. The next two vessels will be delivered in 2021 and 2023, with MSC Seashore already under construction at Fincantieri’s yard in Monfalcone.