Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a global shipping giant, has shown strong interest in European shipyards.
MSC’s Mediterranean Cruise is set to become the third-largest investor in the Grand Bahama Shipyard. This investment is regarded as a significant milestone for the Bahamas, as the Bahamian government eagerly anticipates the economic value brought by the shipyard’s resumption of operations. The shipyard is scheduled to fully restart in 2026 and add two new floating docks, which will rank among the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
Although details of MSC Cruises’ investment have not yet been announced, the news has been confirmed by Grand Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey, who will join Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Group as shareholders in the Grand Bahama shipyard.
In 2000, Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Group invested in the Grand Bahama Shipyard with the aim of building it into an inshore maintenance facility for the cruise industry. Currently, each holds a 40% stake in the shipyard, while the remaining 20% is held by the Bahamian government through the Port Group.
Public information shows that the Grand Bahama Shipyard was established in 2000 to provide maintenance services to meet the cruise industry’s demand for shipyard facilities near its operating bases in Florida and the Caribbean. Initially, the shipyard had only one dry dock, capable of handling vessels with a maximum displacement of 27,000 tons; in 2001, a second dry dock was added, capable of handling vessels with a maximum displacement of 50,000 tons; in 2009, a third dry dock was added, capable of handling vessels with a maximum displacement of 82,500 tons.
The capacity of the Grand Bahama Shipyard has been limited since an accident in 2019 during the partial lifting of the 225,000 gross ton, 341-meter long Oasis of the Seas cruise ship. The accident caused serious damage to the dry dock, and the crane overturned and hit the cruise ship. Since then, the largest cruise ships have been forced to go to Europe for repairs, maintenance and inspections.
After suffering severe damage, the Grand Bahama Shipyard began planning a shipyard revitalization and capacity expansion project. In 2020, Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Group agreed to invest US$665 million to renovate the shipyard, including ordering two ultra-large floating dry docks from Chinese shipyards.
The two floating docks are named “East End Dock” and “Lucayan Dock,” respectively, and are being constructed entirely by Beihai Shipbuilding. The construction contract was signed on May 9, 2022, and took effect in September 2023. Construction began on April 10, 2024, and August 19, 2024, respectively.
The floating dock to be completed is called “East End” and is expected to be delivered in November 2025 and put into use in January 2026. “East End” is designed to be 357.39 meters long, a width of 70.0 meters, a dock wall spacing of 59 meters, a dock wall height of 18.0 meters. And the dock is equipped with 44 ballast tanks, four 50t electric mobile gantry cranes and an advanced automatic dock control system, with a designed lifting capacity of 93,500 tons.
Officials at the Grand Bahama Shipyard pointed out that the construction of the new dock will play an important role in promoting local economic development and creating various opportunities for the entire island.
“East End” and another 120,000-ton floating dock “Lucayan” are part of the Grand Bahama Shipyard’s ongoing shipyard revitalization and capacity expansion project. The $600 million project will build two new floating docks and also include supporting marine engineering and infrastructure in Grand Bahama.
The “East End” and “Lucayan” floating docks were all built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Beihai Shipbuilding. The construction contract was signed on May 9, 2022 and officially took effect in September 2023. Construction started on April 10 and August 19, 2024, respectively.
The 120,000-ton floating dock is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026 and put into use in the fourth quarter of 2026. The dock is designed to be 413.96 meters long and 79 meters wide, with a dock wall spacing of 68 meters and a dock wall height of 18.4 meters. It is equipped with an automatic dock control system that can realize automatic floating or sinking of the dock, with a designed lifting capacity of 120,000 tons.
Upon completion and delivery of the two newly constructed floating docks, Grand Bahama Shipyard will have the largest lifting capacity floating docks in the world, meaning that the yard will be able to service all cruise ships in service and scheduled for construction, as well as a wider range of vessels in the global commercial fleet. Grand Bahama Shipyard will then have the largest cruise ship repair facility in the world and become a global ship repair base.
When the shipyard is operating at full capacity, it can complete 85 to 100 dry dock maintenance projects annually. In addition, with the super-large floating dock, the shipyard’s business scope has expanded to larger-scale maintenance and renovation projects. As the cruise industry continues to grow rapidly, the Grand Bahama Shipyard is expected to surpass previous performance. During the cruise off-season, the shipyard also provides services and emergency repairs for the commercial shipping industry.
In addition to investing in the Grand Bahama Shipyard, MSC is proposing to acquire the Romanian Damen Mangalia shipyard and has submitted a proposal to the Romanian government. Turkish shipbuilder Desan is also working hard to acquire the Damen Mangalia shipyard.
The Damen Mangalia shipyard is struggling due to bankruptcy and the government is seeking a new partner after the previous agreement with Dutch shipyard group Damen was terminated.
MSC plans to use the Damen Mangalia shipyard to build cruise ships, ro-ro ships and tugboats, and introduce an external management team to assist in restoring shipyard operations to reduce its dependence on Asian shipyards. According to reports, MSC has paid the maintenance costs in advance to provide funds to help Damen Mangalia shipyard re-hire employees.