At Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente shipyard, a double ceremony has been held: the float out of ‘Explora II’ and the first steel cutting of ‘Explora III’, the second and third vessels out of a class ordered for the MSC Group’s Explora Journeys brand.
Explora Journeys CEO Michael Ungerer said: “Today’s double ceremony represents an important step forward in building and strengthening our brand, which is redefining the standards of luxury ocean travel thanks to the unparalleled experience that Explora Journeys’ ships are able to offer our guests. These ships, that are also at the forefront from an environmental point of view, are among the best ambassadors of Made in Italy in the world and bear witness to both Italy’s high manufacturing and shipbuilding capacity, and to the MSC Group’s commitment to a country in which we continue to believe and invest very significant resources”.
Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO Fincantieri, said: “Today’s double ceremony fully expresses Fincantieri’s great productive commitment to the realisation for the MSC Group of the Explora class, a project that guarantees the highest quality standards and was conceived from the beginning to accelerate the path toward the zero-emission ship”.
Explora III will enter service in the summer of 2026 and will be the first ship in the Explora fleet to be powered by LNG, considered one of the cleanest marine fuels available on a large scale. In January 2024, construction will begin on Explora IV, also powered by LNG, which will be completed in early 2027.
All of the Explora Journeys vessels will be equipped with the latest environmental and marine technologies, including selective catalytic reduction technology, shore power plug-in connectivity, underwater noise management systems to help protect marine life, and a comprehensive range of onboard energy efficient equipment to optimise engine use to further reduce emissions. MSC and Fincantieri have previously announced that future Explora vessels will include hydrogen fuel cells, allowing zero emissions in port.
