2009-01-24
The launching of the MSC Fantasia ship The Mediterranean Shipping Company – Msc Cruises flagship, Fantasia, is to drop anchor off La Maddalena for the three days of the Summit to accommodate many of the illustrious guests expected.
The Fantasia is a gem of Italian-built advanced technology and eco-design and was launched in Naples on 18 December 2008. It is Europe’s largest cruise ship, weighing in at 133,500 tonnes, measuring 333 m long by 37.92 m wide and towering 60 m tall for a total surface area of 450,000 sq.m. It can carry 3,959 passengers in its 1,637 cabins.
Like the rest of the infrastructure that is being put in place for the Summit, the ship places eco-sustainability high on its list of priorities, as the G8 chaired by Italy intends to cut its harmful emissions and environmental impact down to the minimum. The hull walls are painted in special low-impact polymer paints. Water treatment and reuse and energy saving, meaning the optimisation of electricity consumption in the cabins and public areas, must also be cited. Waste will also be sorted prior to collection on the ship, which is little short of a floating city. An agreement is to be signed with the Aluminium Packaging Consortium on the full recycling of containers of various sizes.
The precise point at which the ship is to be moored still remains to be decided. The area between La Maddalena and the island of Santo Stefano is currently being surveyed for the purpose by the Civil Protection Department, Msc Cruises and Navy experts.