Originally being built for Muammar Gaddafi's regime, this 1751-cabin cruise ship has been bought by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).
A company run by one of Italy's richest men has bought a giant 1751-cabin cruise ship that was originally being built for Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
Gaddafi's fourth son, Hannibal, suggested the Libyan state-owned General National Maritime Transport Company (GNMTC) order the 140,000-tonne cruise ship in 2010 to kickstart a luxury cruising industry in the country.
The EUR550m ($A697 million) ship, which boasts four swimming pools, 26 lifts, a bowling alley and 21 bars across 18 decks, was due to be named the Phoenicia after the ancient civilisation that first settled in what is now Libya.
At the launch of the construction of the ship, which at 333 metres is longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, Captain Ali Belhag, chairman of GNMTC, said: "We believe that this is a significant milestone for our introduction into the cruise industry market. Thanks to the first consultant of GNMTC board of directors, Captain Hannibal M Gaddafi, for his implication in the promotion of the idea and selection of the ship and the shipyard."
The ship, which was due for delivery to Tripoli in December 2012, would have been the world's first cruise ship owned by an Arab company.
But GNMTC failed to keep up with payments to STX, the French shipyard building the liner, after the overthrow of Gaddafi. STX, which is in the final stages of completing the ship in St Nazaire, western France, cancelled the order in June and has announced the sale of the ship to Italy's Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).
MSC, which was founded by its billionaire chief executive Gianluigi Aponte in 1970, is one of the world's largest shipping companies with more than 460 vessels.
Pierfrancesco Vago, the head of MSC's cruise liner subsidiary MSC Cruises, said the new ship, which will be renamed the MSC Preziosa, "represents the highlight of European cruising".
Hannibal Gaddafi, who is said to have been in overall charge of GNMTC, is wanted by the US government but believed to have fled to Algeria. The 36-year-old has a record of run-ins with police across Europe.
In 2008 Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife, Aisha, were arrested at a luxury Swiss hotel following allegations they were mistreating their staff. The incident spiralled into a diplomatic row when Libya vowed to take "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" and in retaliation took two Swiss nationals hostage, suspended visas for Swiss nationals and forced Libyan branches of Swiss companies, including Nestle, to close.
The charges for "bodily harm, threatening behaviour and coercion" were later dropped.
In 2001 he pleaded diplomatic immunity after attacking three police officers guarding his luxury Rome hotel room with bottles and a fire extinguisher.
In 2009 police were called to Claridge's hotel in London after reports of a woman screaming. When they arrived, the £4000-a-night luxury suite was locked and three bodyguards were arrested for obstructing entry. A woman understood to be his wife, a Libyan model, was found bleeding heavily and taken to hospital where she was treated for facial injuries.
MSC Cruises said the ship would also boast 69 exclusive "yacht club suites" with access to a private bar, solarium, hydro-massage pools and glass-walled observation lounge. "A butler service will offer assistance at check-in, transport luggage, unpack, serve traditional English afternoon tea as well as arranging cigars and beverages, booking tables at restaurants, treatments in the MSC Aurea Spa, ad hoc excursions and even arrange private parties."
- Guardian News & Media
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