ArcelorMittal France Supplies World's Biggest Ship-Owners
06/20/2013 - One of the ten largest ships in the world recently made its maiden voyage, with the vessel’s 17 decks all made of ArcelorMittal steel supplied by the company’s site in Saint Nazaire, France.
The MSC Preziosa, built by French company STX (les Chantiers de l’Atlantique) and owned by MSC — the world’s biggest ship-owners — weighs 141,303 tonnes.
ArcelorMittal’s Distribution Solutions business division supplied 1,000 tonnes of steel for the decks. One truck a day delivered the steel between its Saint Nazaire plant and the nearby STX premises. The plant produced the naval specification steel sheets, which have long been popular with maritime builders and suppliers worldwide.
The light, thin grades A and H36 in lengths 16,000-mm and 20,000-mm and thicknesses as low as 5-, 6-, 7- and 8-mm were supplied for the MSC Preziosa.
Philippe James — ArcelorMittal Distribution Solutions sales manager steel service center for Western France, part of the project team — was one of the lucky colleagues who got to check out the ship as soon as it was completed. “At first sight, I must say I was most impressed by the sheer luxury and size. It is a floating town. From prow to stern, walking the length of her decks, I could not but think about all our steel that was under my feet,” he said.
The MSC Preziosa is 333-m long, 38-m wide with 1,751 cabins which can hold 4,300 passengers and can travel at a speed of up to 23.7 knots (43.9 km/h; 27.3 mph).
The luxury liner has 11 shopping venues, including a duty-free mini-mall, as well as five sit-down restaurants, 20 bars, a casino, a big gym and spa, a bowling alley, a 4D cinema, a nightclub, a theatre, a Formula One simulator, four swimming pools and the longest waterslide at sea.
Her permanent Godmother is Sophia Loren.
