Saint-Nazaire (AFP)
Chantiers de l'Atlantique delivered Thursday a new giant liner 331 meters long and 67 meters high, the "MSC Grandiosa", ordered by the Swiss ship owner MSC Cruises and completed a few months after the "MSC Bellissima".
"The Grandiosa is the fifteenth liner built for MSC Cruises by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique," said Gianluigi Aponte, founder and executive chairman of the MSC Group.
"MSC Cruises will have to take delivery of six more ships from the Chantiers de l'Atlantique, thus guaranteeing full employment until at least 2027," Aponte added during the ceremony during which a priest blessed the ship and a bottle of champagne was broken on his bow.
In the early evening, the luxurious liner that can accommodate 6,334 passengers and 1,704 crew members, took the direction of Le Havre. He is then expected in Hamburg, Germany, where he will be inaugurated.
A true floating city with restaurants, shops and a theater, the "MSC Grandiosa" is a long way beyond the "MSC Bellissima" sistership, delivered at the end of February, and is distinguished by innovative technologies.
In particular, it has an exhaust cleaning system that makes it possible to "remove 98% of sulfur dioxide", the shipowner explained.
The delivery ceremony of the "MSC Grandiosa" was preceded in the morning by the cutting of the first sheet of the "MSC Europa" series World Class. This ship, to be delivered in 2022, will be the first liner propelled by LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) built in France.
It will also incorporate a "demonstrator of a new type of fuel cell" operating on LNG and capable of producing electricity and heat.
The European Commission announced Wednesday the opening of an in-depth investigation into the acquisition of Chantiers de l'Atlantique by Italy's Fincantieri, which could harm competition in the shipbuilding industry. The EU executive now has until 17 March 2020 to make a decision.
© 2019 AFP