News

MSC group appoints Ungerer to head yet unnamed luxury brand

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 11 September 2019 11 September 2019

MSC Group said that industry veteran Michael Ungerer has joined its cruises business as CEO of MSC’s new luxury brand. He will join MSC with over 30 years of senior management experience in cruising as well as in luxury hospitality.

Ungerer will be based out of the company’s global headquarters in Geneva and will report to Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Group’s cruises business and broader passenger division. Ungerer, 53, is an Austrian citizen and holds an Executive MBA from INSEAD where he also graduated from the Independent Director Programme (IDP).

Vago commented in a statement: “I am particularly pleased to make this announcement as it marks a key step forward in the set-up of the organizational structure that will lead the development of our new luxury brand. For us, this was a natural progression of the work done across our contemporary brand MSC Cruises since its inception, including with the development of our highly-successful premium ship-within-the-ship concept MSC Yacht Club.

Earlier this year, MSC confirmed an order for four luxury cruise ships to be built by Fincantieri for a total value exceeding €2 billion. The vessels will have gross tonnage of approximately 64,000 and will feature the latest and most advanced environmental and maritime technologies available. Additionally, these super-yachts – which will introduce to the luxury segment a broad range of new guest experiences and other activities as well as feature generous ratios of public spaces - will also showcase a highly-innovative design.

The first of the four vessels will be delivered by Spring 2023. The remaining three will come into service one per year over the following three years through 2026.

MSC Magnifica to be lengthened by 23 metres in 2021 for UK market

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 10 September 2019 10 September 2019

MSC Magnifica, the 95,128 gross ton ship of MSC Cruises that entered service in 2009, will be lengthened by 23 metres in 2021 and once the work has been completed, it will operate a series of cruises from Southampton in the UK, the company said in a statement.

“The newly refurbished MSC Magnifica will undergo a transformation adding 23 meters to the ship that will deliver an additional 7,000 m2 of added space to the ship. This will result in 215 extra cabins, bringing the total number of balcony cabins to 63% of the overall ship, a new water park, a redesigned kids area, plus additional features such as two new restaurants and a new shopping area,” the company said.

MSC Magnifica is a unit of the Musica class and it currently has length of 294 metres and beam of 32 metres. The ship was built in France and it entered service in January 2009. It did not say where the work would be carried out or whether other ships of the class would also be lengthened at some point.

On the technical side, MSC Magnifica will feature two new major and important onboard environmental advances to complement a wide range of existing leading-edge environmental technologies across the company’s entire fleet: a state-of-the-art Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system and next-generation Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) system. SCR technology helps reduce nitrogen oxide into pure nitrogen and water through advanced active emissions control technology.

MSC Cruises also took the opportunity to install a state-of-the-art advanced wastewater treatment system on board that meets the highest standards and that purifies used wastewater to near tap-water quality.

The system meets the so-called ‘Baltic Standard’ and treats the wastewater to a higher standard than most waste standards available in cities around the world. To help reduce and continuously minimize emissions also while in port, the ship will be able to ‘plug in’ to the local power grid wherever such systems are available at berth.

MSC Cruises, which has its headquarters in Geneva, has stated earlier that it plans to upgrade an existing ship with an aim to operate it on the UK market. MSC Magnifica will make 24 cruises from Southampton between May and October 2021. It did not disclose where the ship would be based after that.

In 2015 the four Lirica class of ships underwent a significant renovation as part of the €130 million ‘Renaissance project’, to improve facilities and enhance the onboard experience. All ships were lengthened as part of the programme.

Norway’s race against time in reinventing its cruise business future

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 07 September 2019 07 September 2019

Alan Lam reporting from Norway

Norway’s has always been known for both its rich maritime heritage and imaginative innovations. With the offshore industry languishing in the doldrums, the country’s shipbuilders, designers, and suppliers were forced to rethink, regroup, and re-invent themselves. They now have a fresh focus on the cruise and ferry industry.

This week one of our correspondents is in Sunnmøre to see first hand how the country’s maritime industry is being transformed by this new focus.

About seventy percent of all advanced seagoing vessels in the world were once designed or built in this region. Five years ago, because of the violent decline in the offshore sector, the industry suddenly found itself no longer fit for purpose and, in some cases, facing extinction. Demands for its products and expertise evaporated.

In the true Norwegian spirit of innovation and adaptation, the maritime sector soon re-organised itself and refocused on passenger vessels, more specifically on medium-to-small-sized and technologically advanced cruise ships and ro-pax units. We have already seen an array of hybrid and battery-powered ships being built and delivered by shipyards located in Sunnmøre and its neighbouring regions.

The global cruise market is expanding rapidly, with demands, sustainability, and regulatory environment evolving in tandem. Shipbuilders and suppliers are multiplying all over the world. Norway needs to act quickly and accordingly in order to stay ahead of the game in the maritime industry marketplace.

The Norwegian government is progressively implementing ever-more strict environmental control measures against the shipping industry. From 2026, seven years from now, only zero-emission vessels will be allowed to sail in some of the most popular fjord areas. This restriction is likely to be extended to a much wider geography, probably to include the entire Norwegian coastal region. So for the industry this is a race against time. Its response is a strategy called “fast innovation”.

Our correspondent is currently speaking to local shipyards, suppliers and other stakeholders. A full feature on this topic will appear in the winter issue of CruiseBusiness.com Magazine.