Mina Rashid Welcomes MSC World Europa’s First Ever Call in Middle East

Published: February 01, 2023

After serving as a floating resort through the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the MSC World Europa, a futuristic, lower-carbon-fuelled cruise ship made its first name at Mina Rashid on the 21st of December 2022.

The vessel started its new winter season with a 4-night sail from Doha to Dubai, reinforcing Mina Rashid and the Emirate’s place because the area’s most most popular vacation spot for leisure marine actions. 

Carrying over 4,500 passengers, the vessel and its crew, led by Captain Marco Massa, had been welcomed by Esam Ahmad, Senior Manager – Business administration, P&O Marinas. The captain was introduced with a custom-made plaque celebrating the occasion, in entrance of senior officers representing MSC and DP World. 

The cruise ship is scheduled to make 14 calls to Mina Rashid, bringing in over 189,000 vacationers to the Emirate, underscoring Dubai’s place because the gateway for regional and worldwide cruise itineraries.

State-of-of-the-art vessel with a futuristic strategy

Powered by LNG, the MSC World Europa emits 99% much less sulphur dioxide (SO2), 85% much less nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and 20% much less carbon dioxide (CO2), in comparison with non-LNG powered ships, making it some of the futuristic vessels on this planet. 

The MSC World Europa can also be the primary in its class to accommodate an LNG-powered gasoline cell, serving to reduce its carbon emissions additional. The 50-kilowatt gasoline cell runs on strong oxide gasoline cell (SOFC) know-how and makes use of LNG to provide electrical energy and warmth. This know-how helps the vessel cut back greenhouse gasoline emissions by 30% when put next with ships powered by standard LNG engines alone.

Esam Ahmad, Senior Manager – Business administration, P&O Marinassaid: “The arrival of the MSC World Europa at Mina Rashid is a significant milestone for the cruise terminal. It reaffirms our capabilities in accommodating vessels that are not only massive in size, but also unique in their requirements. We are proud of the fact that Mina Rashid is capable of catering to such distinctive and advanced needs, and we are ready to welcome more ships that require similar services.”

“Owing to Dubai’s strengths, including investments in the tourism industry and the expansion of cruise terminals, we predict another robust winter for the 2022/2023 season. At our cruise terminal, we expect a significant rise in port calls in comparison to last year. Additionally, passenger and crew inflows are expected to rise to around 600,000, which is more than double the number recorded in the previous season,” Esam added.

Saud Mohammed Saeed Hareb, Assistant Manager, International Operations, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, commented: “As cruise tourism continues to play a pivotal role in the growth of Dubai’s tourism sector, the first call of the MSC World Europa to Mina Rashid further reinforces Dubai’s position as the cruise hub of the region. The arrival of this eco-friendly cruise vessel is also a fitting representation of our sustainability-oriented tourism strategy, with the most modern Mina Rashid being a reflection of the city’s rapid development and relentless drive to position itself as a global destination for cruise tourism. We are indeed grateful to our valued network of public and private sector stakeholders like DP World for their continued cooperation and support, which has led to an ever-increasing number of cruise operators seeking to anchor in the Emirate and take advantage of Dubai’s diverse destination offering, world-class infrastructure, superior air and sea connectivity, and its strategic location between east and west.”

An supreme cruise terminal

As of in the present day, Mina Rashid has a berthing capability of 454 yachts, inclusive of 19 superyachts berths, attracting a number of the largest leisure boats throughout the globe. Additionally, the cruise terminal’s round the clock fuelling and dock attendance, yacht restore companies, free Wi-Fi, and quite a lot of different choices which make sure the consolation of the ship’s crew and passengers, make it a fascinating docking station. 

These capabilities improve Mina Rashid’s function in driving the expansion of tourism in Dubai. Capable of dealing with over 25,000 passengers a day, the cruise terminal is nicely positioned to cement Dubai because the cruise hub of the area. Furthermore, Mina Rashid’s strategic location at shut proximity to Dubai’s hottest landmarks and vacationer hotspots, such because the Burj Khalifa, Downtown, make it essentially the most handy location for the town’s friends.

Source web site: www.dubaichronicle.com