MAIDEN CALL CEREMONY FOR MSC BELLISSIMA IN ABU DHABI

Crests were exchanged on Sunday between the ship’s Master, Captain Giuseppe Maresca, and Noura Rashed Al Dhaheri, Cruise Terminal Manager, Abu Dhabi Ports.

Speaking onboard Gianni Onorato, CEO, MSC Cruises said: “Abu Dhabi is a key destination for our cruise itineraries in the Gulf and I’m delighted that throughout the winter season the most modern and one of the most environmentally-advanced ships to serve the region, MSC Bellissima, will call Zayed Port on 17 separate occasions to bring thousands of guests to enjoy the culturally-rich, inspiring and remarkable capital city of the United Arab Emirates.”

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Abu Dhabi Ports Group CEO added: “The maiden call ceremony onboard MSC Bellissima is further recognition of the excellent facilities offered at Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal, adding value to the city and emirate’s growing tourism industry. Abu Dhabi Ports has built a strong and successful partnership with MSC Cruises. To be selected as part of MSC Bellissima’s first winter season is a great honour, reflecting the quality of support we provide for cruise operators and the excellent experience Abu Dhabi offers to visitors.”

The 5,686-guest capacity MSC Bellissima, which was launched earlier this year in Southampton, England, will offer two separate 7-night itineraries from Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during winter 2019/2020.

The first will visit Sir Bani Yas Island in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; Muscat and Khasab in Oman; Dubai in the UAE before returning to Abu Dhabi. The second itinerary will take in Sir Bani Yas Island; Bahrain; Doha, Qatar and Dubai.

MSC Cruises will also deploy MSC Lirica in the Gulf for this winter season with 11-night cruises as well as 14-night cruises that call also to India.

MSC Bellissima’s Specifications:

Ship name MSC Bellissima

Ship class Meraviglia Class

Delivery date 27 February, 2019

Gross tonnage 171,598 GT

Lower berth capacity 4,434

Max passenger capacity 5,686

Crew members 1,536

Number of cabins 2,217

Length / Beam / Height 315.3 m / 43 m / 65 m

Maximum speed 22.7 knots

MSC Bellissima’s environmental specifications:

 Energy-efficient hull and overall design: 28 per cent less fuel compared to Fantasia Class ships (entered in service between 2008-2013) which represents a reduction of 255kg less carbon dioxide per passenger, per cruise.

 Hydrodynamics: optimised hull design and latest generation azipods and propellers.

 Hybrid Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS): 97 per cent less sulphur oxide through a system which can operate in closed loop.

 Shore-to-ship power: fully ready to connect to local power grid to reduce emissions while at berth in port.

 Advanced waste management: comprehensive systems to reduce, recycle and reuse all waste aspects on board.

 Ballast water treatment system: a system to avoid introducing invading species through ballast water.

 Advanced wastewater treatment: the system treats wastewater to a very high quality and the end product is of a better standard than most shoreside municipal waste standards around the world.

 Smart heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC): two high- and low-heat recovery loops to intelligently redistribute heat and cold from the laundry room and machinery spaces to warm up the swimming pools or other parts of the ship.

 Trim Optimisation: a software application to monitor and optimise trim, the ship’s stability, in real-time. This technology supports ship officers to keep the vessel’s trim optimised to reduce fuel consumption and optimise performance.

 Energy-saving LED lighting: all MSC Cruises ships use only energy efficient LED and fluorescent lighting.

Hull paints: the hulls of all MSC Cruises’ ships are coated with special environmentally-friendly paints which impede the growth of barnacles, algae and marine organisms in order to reduce drag significantly.