Passenger Vessel News Roundup | November 4 – Cruise ship deliveries and Australian car ferry construction

Recently delivered cruise ships will soon begin serving itineraries in the Middle East and the Caribbean. Construction is meanwhile ongoing on a sail-equipped cruise ship for the Adriatic and a Ro-Pax ferry for an Australian operator.

MSC Cruises welcomes first LNG-fuelled ship to fleet

MSC Cruises recently took delivery of a new cruise ship from French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique.

MSC World Europa is the lead ship of the World-class vessels ordered by MSC Cruises. It has a length of 333 metres and capacity for 6,762 passengers across 21 decks.

MSC World Europa is also the first LNG-fuelled ship to join the MSC Cruises fleet. It will commence operational sailings in the Middle East in December 2022.

Carnival Cruise Line takes delivery of second Excel-class ship

Carnival Cruise Line has taken delivery of its second Excel-class cruise ship following construction at Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku.

Carnival Celebration will be homeported in Miami upon its arrival on November 20 following a 14-day voyage out of Southampton.

The newbuild can house up to 5,200 guests and will sail on itineraries covering the eastern and western Caribbean.

Finnish yard lays keel of new Spirit of Tasmania Ro-Pax ferry

Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) of Finland has laid the keel of a new Ro-Pax ferry ordered by Australian operator TT-Line Company.

The future Spirit of Tasmania IV will be the first of a planned series of two 1,800-passenger ferries that will sail on TT-Line’s Spirit of Tasmania service between Geelong and Devonport in Bass Strait.

The vessel’s delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. The second ferry in the series will be handed over before the end of that year.

Construction starts on new Adriatic Sea cruise sailship

Croatian shipyard Brodosplit has laid the keel for a new three-masted cruise sailship for operations in the Adriatic Sea.

Once completed, the vessel will be 63.5 metres long and 10 metres wide, with a height of 5.35 metres to the main deck. The hull and the superstructure will be made of steel and the masts will be made of aluminium.

When not under sail, the ship will be powered by two 150kW electric motors, each of which is connected to batteries that are continuously charged from different sources.

The vessel will be designed to also be capable of charging its batteries while sailing. A system of ship propellers with variable pitch and a special blade geometry will be used to serve as water turbines when sailing, and each “reversible propeller” will then charge the high-power batteries in the lower deck.