Ships

Msc, after the breakdown the ship with 8,500 people on board left Naples for Messina

A thorough technical verification will be carried out when the ship has reached its scheduled port of call

25 August 2025Aggiornato il 26 agosto 2025

Nave in avaria a Ponza, le immagini a bordo della 'Msc World Europa'

3' min read

The cruise ship Msc World Europa, which was laid up yesterday off Ponza for hours due to engine failure, sailed off again during the night, heading for Messina. After a stop in Naples, where the ship arrived last night, it resumed normal navigation. The ship restarted with the propulsion system partially restored.

"A thorough technical verification will be carried out when the ship has reached its scheduled port of call," the group had assured in the afternoon, reiterating that during the incident "all services on board" continued "to function regularly" and there were no conditions that compromised the safety of guests or crew. "Passengers, including those due to embark in Naples, have been promptly informed of the delay and are receiving constant updates on the development of the situation."

After the arrival in Naples and the verifications, 'barring any further problems, the ship will set sail tomorrow morning for the next stop in Messina,' says a note from the company.

The ship's breakdown occurred about 8 nautical miles off the island of Ponza: the problem, according to the Coast Guard, occurred at 07.25 on Monday morning when the cruise ship sailing from Genoa to Naples with 8,585 people (6,496 passengers and 2,089 crew members) on board, reported an electrical problem with its engines.

The company's specialised technicians, the Coastguard emphasises, reached the ship to carry out on-board checks to resolve the breakdown. Two Coast Guard patrol boats from Ponza and Naples, as well as a helicopter, were dispatched during the incident. The Coast Guard's Maritime Rescue Centre in Civitavecchia followed the evolution of the situation through its maritime traffic monitoring systems, maintaining direct contact with the ship and the ship owner.

A passenger's testimony

"We're with the propellers off, stationary, with the island of Ponza behind us, and now there's the coastguard. Practically the services are active, but the coast guard has arrived and someone has come on board, we've been with the engines off since 5.30 this morning". This is the testimony that came directly from the ship "Msc World Europa". "They have restored all the services," says a passenger, "practically the ship is operational from a logistical point of view, but as far as autonomy is concerned, everything is stopped, the engines are still blocked. On board, the situation appears calm with holidaymakers sunbathing and swimming in the pool. A little later, as mentioned, the ship was put in a condition to depart.

Msc World Europa,green ship for Mediterranean cruises

The World Europa is one of the flagships of Msc's cruise fleet and is engaged in routes crossing the Mediterranean, from Spain to North Africa to the Italian coast and as far as Greece. The next departure, according to the company's website, is scheduled for 31 August: Genoa, Naples, Messina, Malta, Barcelona and Marseille are the stages for a 7-day itinerary at a cost of €1,429 per person for a cabin with balcony. An itinerary that will be repeated, identical but with different prices, every seven days until November. The Msc World Europa was built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards in Saint Nazaire, France, and commenced operations on 20 December 2022 with a nine-day round trip from Qatar after serving as a hotel ship in Doha during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. She is Msc's first World class ship. Registered in the port of Valletta and launched on 2 December 2021, it cost around €1 billion. It has a gross tonnage of 215,863 tonnes, is over 333 metres long and 47 metres wide and is 68 metres high from the waterline. It has 20 decks and over 2600 cabins. The ship is powered by five dual-fuel engines that can run on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and low-sulphur marine diesel. It has a catalytic reduction system that reduces nitrogen emissions by 90%. It is also the first ship in the world to implement a LNG-fuelled fuel cell. The 50-kilowatt fuel cell demonstrator on board the ship incorporates fuel cell technology and uses LNG to produce electricity and heat on board, further reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% compared to ships with conventional LNG engines. It also minimises noise impact through a noise management system, reducing potential effects on marine wildlife.