| Virtuosa delivered

MSC Cruises has taken delivery of flagship-to-be MSC Virtuosa, with the traditional flag ceremony held yesterday at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint Nazaire (pictured).

Virtuosa will become one of the most environmentally conscious ships at sea when she comes into service in Apr.

The ship will arrive in time for the summer season, commencing from 16 Apr, with four cruises in the Mediterranean of three, four and 10 nights, before moving to her new homeport of Kiel, where she will commence Northern Europe itineraries from 08 May.

Yesterday’s ceremony was attended in person by Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago and his family, as well as representatives from MSC’s new builds team, along with delegates from Chantiers de l’Atlantique.

The ship is one of the most technologically advanced ships at sea, and includes hybrid exhaust gas cleaning, selective catalytic reduction, and wastewater treatment in line with the International Maritime Organization resolutions.

Virtuosa also boasts ship-to-shore power connectivity, and an underwater radiated noise management system, with hull and engine room designs that minimise acoustic sound impact, reducing their potential effects on marine fauna.

The ship is the sister ship of MSC Grandiosa, with this year to see the launch of two new next-generation ships (the other being MSC Seashore, which will come into service in Aug).

This will bring the fleet total to 19, with a further four to be launched by 2025.

“We remain committed to building each time some of the most innovative ships in the world when it comes to their environmental performance featuring nothing but the most advanced available technology at sea,” Vago said, adding each new ship would “push the boundaries”.