Navalmeccanica

Fincantieri delivers the ultra-luxury ship Explora II to Msc

Ceremony in Genoa. Vago: 'Cooperation with the shipyard will continue at least until 2028'. Folgiero: 'We need to complete the expansion of the plant'.

by Raoul de Forcade

13 September 2024

3' min read

Key points

Total investment of 3.5 billion
Enlargement of building site
Cruise solution to overtourism

3' min read

The collaboration between Msc and Fincantieri 'began in 2016, with the start of construction of the first ship: Msc Seaside. It will continue until at least 2028, when Explora VI will be delivered. For a total of no less than 10 units. We are aware of the importance of our partnership with Fincantieri. And we are sure that Fincantieri is too. We are willing to take it forward, hoping that space will be found to build our future ships.

These words were spoken by Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of the Msc group's cruise division, during the triple ceremony held at Fincantieri's Genoa shipyard, which celebrated the delivery of the Explora II ship, the laying of the coin (welded, as tradition dictates, into the hull) of Explora III, and the cutting of the first plate of Explora IV, all units of the Explora Journeys fleet, the luxury lifestyle brand recently launched by the Aponte family company.

Total investment of 3.5 billion

The construction of this new fleet currently involves a total of six vessels, the first of which was delivered in July 2023. All built in Italy by Fincantieri, the first one in Monfalcone and the other five in Genoa, the ships required a total investment of more than 3.5 billion from Msc, of which around 500 million for Explora II.

The impact of this investment on the country's economy, it has been calculated, exceeds EUR 15 billion, with significant spin-offs to the supply chain and thousands of jobs: the construction of each unit requires, in fact, more than 7 million man-hours and an average of 2,500 people for two to three years.

Extending the construction site

And precisely in order to have the new spaces needed to continue the partnership with Msc, involving the Genoa shipyard, the naval engineering group is pushing ahead with the seaward expansion of the Sestri Ponente shipyard, which has arrived (not without effort and stop-and-go), as Fincantieri's CEO Pierroberto Folgiero recalled during the ceremony, "at the famous phase 3 (the most complicated one, which also involves moving the railway tracks, ndr). Deputy Minister Rixi has always supported this project. The time has come,' Folgiero emphasised, 'to take it forward, to finance, develop, design, and above all execute phase 3 of the shipyard, which will allow Sestri to enlarge not only the dock, but also the workshop capacity and the possibility of building, on this site, the largest ships in the world'.

Folgiero added: "This investment by the country in Sestri corresponds to Fincantieri's investment in manpower and resources and a long-term relationship with Msc. With the aim, he concluded, of ensuring that 'in this area, a long-term alliance' with Aponte's company 'gradually becomes a reality'.

Present at the ceremony, the Deputy Minister for Infrastructure, Edoardo Rixi, for his part, recalled that, for phases 1 and 2 of the Sestri expansion, there is funding 'for EUR 600 million and, for phase 3, planning is underway with Ferrovie. Rixi also pointed out that, in Fincantieri's Genoese shipyard, a large dry dock is being built (it is part of phase 2) to which, he hoped, "we hope that Msc will give, with one of its ships, the first order.

Cruises solution to overtourism

During the event, Vago explained that cruises can be a solution to overtourism. 'Even this summer,' he emphasised, 'there has been talk of overtourism, sometimes associating it with the cruise sector, inappropriately in our opinion; these, in fact, represent an effective solution to prevent the phenomenon: we have the ability to manage flows and excursions, developing together with the destinations a planned and sustainable tourism'.

The tourism sector, he added, "is set to develop considerably in the coming years. But it will not always be possible to build the necessary facilities to accommodate the growing number of visitors and the infrastructure to transport them. Cruises represent a socially sustainable solution, as they welcome passengers on board and transport them by sea, thus absorbing overtourism, without burdening existing structures, in an environmentally sustainable way as well'.