Posted on Friday, June 11, 2010 by Peter Knego
MSC FANTASIA at Genoa. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2010.
St. Nazaire, France-based STX Europe have been commissioned by Libya’s General National Maritime Transport Co (GNMTC) to construct a 139,400 gt cruise ship largely based upon the design of MSC Cruises’ recent STX newbuilds, MSC FANTASIA (shown) and MSC SPLENDIDA. The as yet unnamed vessel is due for completion at the end of 2012.
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Kalle Id
June 11, 2010 at 1:10 pm
A Libyan cruise ship would be the coolest thing since the ships sailing under the hammer and sickle. In a not-quite-serious way, that is.
David
June 11, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Libyan cruise ship ? Maybe good for a european or middle-eastern clientele., and I doubt any Americans would be found aboard. But good luck to the new company.
John
June 12, 2010 at 7:35 pm
I’ve been to the Gulf of Sidra…..can’t imagine why anyone would want to go there without an aircraft carrier and a battle group. Remember the Achille Lauro?
Phill
June 16, 2010 at 6:16 am
The Achille Lauro was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists.
This is an interesting proposition, tourism will be a big money earner as Libya starts to reconnect with the rest of the world and certainly once Gaddafi passes his use-by date. It’ll be great to see this ship (the first North African passenger ship in 50 years!) – if she’s ever constructed – but with the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the construction and associated costs (infrastructure, manning, safety etc), wouldn’t it be better t put that money into local schools and hospitals instead?
Kalle Id
June 21, 2010 at 2:05 am
I definately agree with Phill above that the money possibly invested in this ship would be better spent improving the quality of life of the people in Libya.
Come to think of it, if realised this wouldn’t be the first time General National Maritime Transport Co makes a sudden intrusion into modern shipping like this. In 1977 they purchased the state-of-the-art ferry/cruise ships Monte Granada and Monte Toledo which were just two and three years old at the time, respectively. These were amongst the best-appointed ferries of their time. They were used in ferry services to and from Libya until 2001-2002.
Kalle Id
July 1, 2010 at 4:59 am
Cruise Business Review reports today that the letter of intent between STX France and GNMTC of Libya has now been formalized into a constuction contract: http://www.cruisebusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1254:libyans-sign-firm-contract-with-stx-france-for-139400-gross-ton-cruise-ship&catid=48:top-headlines-category&Itemid=116
In other words, there will be a Libyan cruise ship. I repeat what I said in the first comment about the inherent coolness of this whole thing.
Hank
April 17, 2011 at 2:32 pm
How will the Libyan crisis affect this I wonder?
Kalle Id
April 18, 2011 at 5:51 am
Poorly, I’d wager. Apparently this was/is the pet project of Gaddafi’s son Hannibal, and somehow I find it hard to believe the probably inevitable new regime of Libya would be interested in going ahead with the project. I guess the real question is, will the ship be completed (construction has already begun) and if yes, which cruise line will buy it?
Hank
April 18, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Interesting indeed.
Kenneth Eden
April 19, 2011 at 5:28 am
Supposedly, with a capital “S”, MSC is or was affiliated with the Libyan ship, let them keep the thing.
Kalle Id
June 23, 2011 at 9:29 am
And now the contract between STX and GNTMC has been cancelled and STX are looking for a new buyer for the under-construction ship.