Sarah Bretz, ContributorExplora Journeys, along with its shipbuilder Fincantieri, celebrated significant milestones for three of its ships today. The luxury cruise line officially took delivery of Explora II, held the coin ceremony for Explora III, and celebrated the steel cutting for Explora IV.
The ceremony was held at Fincantieri’s historic Sestri Ponente shipyard. It was attended by Edoardo Rixi, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport; the Mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci; Executive Chairman of the Cruise Division of the MSC Group, Pierfrancesco Vago; CEO and General Manager of Fincantieri, Pierroberto Folgiero; Chairman Biagio Mazzotta; and General Manager of the Merchant Ships Division, Luigi Matarazzo.
“We are delighted to continue our growth in the luxury segment, taking delivery today of the second of six Explora Journeys ships, while the third and fourth are already under construction at this shipyard,” said Vago. “These vessels represent a combination of innovation and sustainability and are part of an important expansion plan for our new European luxury brand. They also strengthen our long-term partnership with Fincantieri, which began 10 years ago and currently includes the delivery of four more ships by 2028, in addition to the six already delivered to date.”
The event celebrated three key moments in maritime tradition and in the construction of the Explora Journeys fleet, which includes two current ships and four additional ones either under construction or on order. The first, Explora I, was delivered in July 2023.
All ships are powered by liquefied natural gas, and are ready to use bio-LNG and renewable synthetic LNG once they become widely available on the maritime sector. The last two ships on order — Explora V and Explora VI — will also be LNG-powered. However, there is a project underway for both to have large fuel cell capacity, capable of transforming renewable LNG into hydrogen and significantly reducing emissions.
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