MESTRE – Queen AnneQueen Anne, It is the third ship that Fincantieri has built for the British company Cunard which for 184 years has been offering vluxury travel within the Carnival Corporation & plc brand, the Anglo-American company, the largest operator in the world in the cruises.
It was delivered yesterday morning to the owner at the Marghera shipyard: on May 3rd it will make its maiden voyage from Southampton to Lisbon and immediately after another historic one, the British Isles Festival Voyage. The one in Marghera, in the Northern industrial canal a few miles from Venice, is one of the shipyards of the Italian Group that will not have survival problems, indeed it is destined to grow, as explained Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and general manager of Fincantieri, because it builds cutting-edge, sophisticated and sustainable ships and, in the case of the Queen Anne, dedicated to luxury.
And the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso (who arrived at the ceremony together with his colleague for relations with Parliament, Luca Ciriani) underlined that «the business and excellence of Made in Italy intersect with Cunard and Carnival. And one of the most significant stops in the world of cruises is Venice, a Republic founded on the sea.” In the same way, continued Urso, the Government wants to develop Italy as a maritime Republic, having established the Ministry of the Sea and preparing to launch the framework law on the Blue economy and that on the underwater domain: «Europe must change course and reaffirm the role of industry, which is cutting-edge and sustainable; in this context, Italian shipbuilding and boating are jewels, together with food, furniture and clothing. We lost commercial shipbuilding because we focused on the excellence of Made in Italy.”
EXCELLENCES
Which are cruise and military shipping: two sectors that fall within that 5% of the world market that remained in Europe, while 95% went to the Far East. «In the construction of the Queen Anne, tradition and future, qualities of Fincantieri, are combined. In this context, the cost of steel, energy and labor account for 20%, the other 80% lies in the great complexity that has made Fincantieri a system of systems ranging from engineering to craft supply chains : – said CEO Folgiero – the Made in Italy of ingenuity”. The future? To maintain that 5% of the market, the one with the highest added value, we must focus on the digital ship (with new data platforms that help make decisions in the best way and in the shortest time) and green (with LNG fuels, ethanol, hydrogen and perhaps even ammonia), «and we will bring with us our small and medium-sized enterprises which will have to evolve, and our workers».
ARSENAL
All within the «modern Arsenal of the third millennium» as the regional councilor for Planning and Budget, Francesco Calzavara, defined the Marghera plant: «The workers here are a fine example of integration. In Veneto we have 5 million inhabitants, 11% of whom are foreigners. And every year we host 73 million tourists including cruise passengers who are part of an increasingly important sector also because it represents the quality presences on which we are aiming.” Also at the ceremony yesterday was the president of Cunard, Katie McAlister, who recalled how Fincantieri is the company that has built the most ships of the Queen series for Cunard (in addition to the Anne, there are the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria and the Queen Elizabeth) and will be the first time since 1998 that the brand will have four ships in simultaneous service. And there was Thorhauge Engered Klein, the first female commander appointed by Cunard in 2010 and now in charge of guiding the new queen of the seas: «184 years ago the first ship of the Group, the Britannia, in terms of dimensions fit inside the theater of this ship » she said, excitedly, receiving from the director of the Marghera plant, Marco Lunardi, the flask with the first water from the lagoon touched by the keel of the Queen Anne. The 114 thousand tonnage ship on 14 decks and almost 324 meters in length can carry 3 thousand passengers. In addition to swimming pools, bars, restaurants, shops, cinemas and theatres, the ship offers the gastronomic experiences of Le Gavroche at Sea by starred chef Michel Roux, wellness packages by Harper’s Bazaar UK, exclusive screenings by the British Film Institute, and facilities for fitness, beauty, spa and Spa Mareel Wellness & Beauty.
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