STX Europe and MSC Cruise have signed a letter of intent for cruise vessel

The new cruise ship will be a sister ship of "MSC Fantasia" and "MSC Splendida", which were delivered from STX France's St. Nazaire shipyard in December 2008 and July 2009, respectively. The new vessel will be the 9th cruise ship built in St. Nazaire for MSC Cruises.
The new cruise ship will have a length of 330 meters and a size of about 140.000 GT. The vessel will have 1,751 cabins, which is 100 more cabins than her two sister vessels. The vessel will have an ultra-modern design with multiple dining and entertainment options - with the highest environmental standards.
"This letter of intent demonstrates the excellent and exceptional collaboration between teams of STX at St. Nazaire and those of MSC Cruises. We look forward to implementing our expertise to again fulfil the promise of exceptional quality, deliverability, and design for MSC Cruises" says Mr. Jacques Hardelay, President of STX France SA.
The new order will generate about 5,000,000 hours of work for the industrial area of St. Nazaire - mostly at STX France SA and its sub-suppliers and partners. For the shipyard, it represents two years of work for 1,000 of 2,300 employees
Final confirmation of the order remains subject to finalization of financing arrangements and Board approval.