Geneva-based cruise line MSC Cruises has signed a letter of intent for four more World Class cruise ships to be built at STX France’s shipyard in Saint Nazaire, the cruise company confirmed.
Featuring a weight of 200,000 gross tons, the ships will be fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and have the capacity to carry some 5,400 passengers.
The deal, which is reportedly worth some EUR 4 billion (USD 4.5 billion), will see the ships debute in 2022.
The four new ships, announced by the cruise line’s founder Gianluigi Aponte, bring MSC Cruises’ orderbook to 11 new cruise vessels scheduled to join the company’s fleet by 2026.
The order comes only two months after the cruise company announced that it inked a deal with the same shipyard to build two 331-meter long Meraviglia Plus class vessels, valued at EUR 1.6 billion (USD 1.74 billion).
The two Meraviglia Plus class ships, which will have the capacity to carry almost 6,300 passengers, are expected to join the company’s fleet in October 2019 and September 2020.
Under a contract signed with STX France in April 2015, MSC Cruises has two additional Vista class cruise ships on order.