MSC Cruises has secured financial backing to go ahead with building a new large scale ship.
MSC Fantastica will be the latest in the Italian line’s Fantasia class of vessels when it enters service by the summer of 2012.
The new order for the Italian company’s 12th ship was confirmed at a ceremony at French shipyard STX France attended by the country’s president Nicolas Sarkozy.
The new vessel will be a sister ship to MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia, the largest ships ever built for a European ship owner.
The cost of the 3,274-passenger vessel was undisclosed but MSC Cruises chief executive Pierfrancesco Vago said: “We are delighted at the confirmation of this important investment, a sign of the success of our ambitious growth strategy, and we would like to thank all those who have made it possible.
“Together with STX France, we are now keen to focus our energies on further enhancing MSC Cruises’ leading positioning within the world’s cruise industry.
“MSC Fantastica will build on the success of the ‘Fantasia’ prototype, appreciated by more and more guests as unique in its class thanks to innovative features like the MSC Yacht Club, the ship within a ship offering unprecedented levels of privacy and personalised service.”