The Italian-Swiss shipowner MSC has placed an order for 2 billion euros with Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire for two new liners, to be delivered in 2025 and 2027 and powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas), announced, this Sunday, January 19, the Elysée.
This firm order, historic for the Atlantic shipyards, is accompanied by the signing of two memorandums of understanding with the shipyards, potentially involving 4 billion euros in additional investment, said the executive, in ahead of the “Choose France” summit on Monday in Versailles.
In order to continue to convince that France is attractive despite the social movements in progress, Emmanuel Macron invited nearly 200 French and foreign bosses under the golds of the castle, for the 3rd edition of this summit, and on the eve of the World Economic Forum from Davos.
14 million working hours
According to the Elysée, the construction in Saint-Nazaire of the two new liners of 6,700 passengers each will generate “14 million hours of work, corresponding to 2,400 jobs for three and a half years”.
The agreement also provides for the development of a new class of LNG-powered liners as well as that of a new prototype of boats propelled partly by sail, de facto integrating the “best environmental innovations“, the cruise sector being regularly accused of polluting massively.
LNG is a fuel that does not emit sulfur dioxide and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 20%, and fine particles by more than 95%.
“Shaping the cruise of tomorrow”
“We are committed together to shaping the cruise of tomorrow and to developing ship concepts that go well beyond existing environmental standards”welcomed the general manager of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Laurent Castaing, quoted in a press release from MSC.
The Italian-Swiss cruise line and the Loire-Atlantique shipyard, which have already produced 15 boats in 20 years of collaboration, are thus heading a little further towards a sustainable cycle by choosing to extend the use of a fuel that does not does not emit sulfur dioxide and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 20% and fine particles by more than 95%.
“This is a new impetus, because these partnerships are geared towards innovation and ecological transition, so that the environmental impact of cruising improves and goes beyond current regulations”assured Erminio Eschena, director of institutional affairs and industrial relations of the MSC group.
Sails and fuel cells
And the common ambitions do not stop there since the agreement to be formalized this Monday at Matignon also includes the development of a 3rd class of LNG liners as well as a partnership to develop prototypes using new modes of propulsion. .
“The four ships of this new class would represent an overall investment amount of more than four billion euros and some 30 million additional hours of work for the shipyard, the suppliers and co-directors involved in the project”says MSC.
“The industry is already looking towards the 2050s”assured M. Eschena. “We are going to initiate something totally revolutionary in passenger transport, and make our technological delusions of today become realities tomorrow, just like LNG was madness ten years ago”.
As part of this new collaboration with Saint-Nazaire,“tests will be conducted to explore sail propulsion, combined with other technologies such as fuel cells“, he completes while the cruise sector is accused of polluting massively.
“Excellent news for the French economy”
Edouard Philippe hailed a “excellent news” for both the economy and the environment after the signature at Matignon of three agreements between Chantiers de l’Atlantique and the shipowner MSC, including a firm order of 2 billion euros.
“For the women and men who work at the Chantiers, there are many of them in subcontractors and in equipment manufacturers, for a territory, that of Saint-Nazaire, and more generally for the region and for France, to sign new contracts , that’s really great news.”underlined the Prime Minister during a ceremony in the presence of the signatories on Monday morning.
“These signatures are good news because they reflect MSC’s desire to switch from traditional propulsion modes to more virtuous modes of propulsion, I am thinking in particular of LNG” (liquefied natural gas), continued Edouard Philippe, recalling that “the new frontier of maritime transport is to adapt to the demands of the world, it is to ensure that it emits less CO2, emits less pollutants”.
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David samzun, mayor of Saint-Nazaire welcomes, for his part, a “excellent news for local employment”.
“We don’t need Fincantieri”
“We start the week with a smile, the year starts strong“, rejoices on the spot Christophe Morel, CFDT representative. “It’s interesting to have a 10-year work perspective ahead of you.”
“We now have a way to invest in social issues and in employees and we will be able to say so at the next CSE which will take place at the end of January”, adds Sébastien Benoît, CGT naval general secretary. According to him, if the order book is “very full”working conditions are also deteriorating “very quickly” on the site which today has 3,200 employees including 1,100 workers, 1,200 technicians and the rest engineers.
This confirms that “we don’t need Fincantieri as a majority shareholder, because we are able to get orders”retains for her part Nathalie Durand-Prinborgne, the FO section secretary who intends to solicit the European Commission on this question.
13 MSC ships
The executive points out that these orders and memorandums of understanding are part of “in the wake of 15 boats already built by the Shipyards for MSC over the past 20 years” and evokes “13 MSC ships” which will leave Saint-Nazaire in the coming decade.
Last November, the delivery to Saint-Nazaire of the “MSC Grandiosa” was preceded by the cutting of the first sheet of the “MSC Europa” in the World Class series. This ship, which should be delivered in 2022, will be the first LNG-powered liner built in France.
It is this type of liner that will therefore be delivered in 2025 and 2027 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, whose takeover by the Italian Fincantieri is the subject of an in-depth investigation opened by the European Commission. The European executive has until March 17 to take a decision on this takeover, which could harm competition in shipbuilding.
