MSC and Moby Lines have teamed up on an order for new luxury cruise ferries in China.
The Italian companies said four LNG-ready 2,500-passenger, 3,765-lane-metre ships have been contracted at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI).
There is also an option for four more vessels.
MSC's GNV operation will receive the first and third ferries, while the Onorato-controlled Moby will take the second and fourth.
Delivery will begin from 2020.
The RINA-classed ships will travel at 23.5 knots.
The companies said the ships will be the biggest ro-paxes ever built.
No price has been revealed.
"Today we are taking a further step in the process begun some time ago of offering to our cargo and passenger customers the finest network of departures with vessels that are young, efficient and with low environmental impact,” said Achille Onorato.
“This further step will allow us, as we continue to invest for the long term, to offer a continuously improving service, increasingly consolidating our desire to take the brand Italy proudly across the seas and to constitute a resource and an infrastructure that serves our country, continuing to create new jobs.”
