MSC Cruises has officially taken delivery of its new flagship, the MSC Seaview, at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. The delivery ceremony took place in the presence of Gianluigi Aponte, the ship owner, as well as the founder and executive chairman of MSC Group. Also present at the ceremony were Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises, other members of the Aponte and Aponte-Vago families, Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, as well as other regional and local authorities and dignitaries.
Coming on the heels of its sibling ship, MSC Seaside — which launched at the end of 2017 in Miami — MSC Seaview is ready to start sailing its inaugural season in the Mediterranean. The ship is the one MSC Cruises new build coming into service this year, as well as the third MSC Cruises new build to come into service in just 12 months. It is also the second ship to be built by Fincantieri, and the 15th ship to join the MSC Cruises global fleet.
The new ship has a “beach condo” design and large outdoor public spaces. During its inaugural season, MSC Seaview will cruise the Mediterranean before heading to South America for the winter season.
Looking ahead, MSC Cruises is nine months away from the completion of its next ship, the Meraviglia-class MSC Bellissima, Vago said.
During the delivery ceremony, which pays tribute to an important maritime tradition, Roberto Olivari, Fincantieri's shipyard director, handed over to Pier Paolo Scala, Master of MSC Seaview, an ampoule holding the first water that touched the hull when the ship was floated out last year.
MSC Seaview is the second ship in the Seaside class and, like its sibling ship MSC Seaside, has a number of environmentally friendly features, including a Green 3 Star Design notation from the international classification society, RINA. The certification recognizes that MSC Seaview reaches the highest levels of eco-compatibility due to features such as the exhaust gas cleaning system, advanced waste water treatment, systems for the prevention of oil discharge from machinery spaces, ballast water treatment system, and the ship’s Environmental Management Plan.
MSC Seaview is the third ship to be built under MSC Cruises’ EUR 10.5 billion ($12.4 billion USD) investment plan which has already resulted in the completion of two out of 12 next-generation ships: MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seaside in May 2017 and November 2017 respectively. The ship will now sail a three-day voyage, arriving in its homeport, Genoa, Italy, on June 7. The newest addition to the MSC Cruises’ fleet will be officially inaugurated there in a ceremony on June 9 and will commence its inaugural cruise on June 10.
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