The Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply solutions to Chantiers de l‘Atlantique, France, for the first two World Class cruise vessels being built for Geneva, Switzerland-based MSC Cruises.
The ships will operate on LNG fuel and will be the first two cruise ships to run on LNG with Wärtsilä 46DF engines and with Wärtsilä LNGPac systems.
The full scope of Wärtsilä’s supply of fully integrated solutions includes, for each of the two vessels, five 14-cylinder Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel engines fitted with nitrogen oxide reduction (NOR) units, two Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel storage and supply systems, seven Wärtsilä thrusters, and two Wärtsilä fixed pitch propellers.
The Wärtsilä 46DF engines are IMO Tier III compliant in gas mode, and are compliant in marine diesel oil (MDO) mode in combination with the NOR units.
The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery in mid-2020 for the first ship, and in mid-2022 for the second.
The steel cutting ceremony for the first of the two vessels, the MSC Europa was held at Chantiers de l‘Atlantique in the end of October and it is scheduled to be launched in May 2022. Delivery of the second World Class vessel is scheduled for 2024.