MSC GROUP’S CRUISE DIVISION TURNS TO SMART CONTAINERS FOR DELIVERY OF THE FRESHEST FOOD

Geneva, Switzerland – August 14, 2024 – MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys are joining forces with sister company MSC, the world leader in container shipping, to use smart containers to guarantee that the freshest produce is loaded onto the lines’ cruise ships.

Each smart container has an internet connection relaying data such as position, temperature and humidity, which is monitored remotely around the clock from a centralized Customer Service Center in Antwerp, Belgium. A problem during the transportation of goods by road or sea triggers an alert to the supplier, which allows them to resolve the issue during transit to ensure food products that depend on exact environmental conditions for freshness can be delivered without having to dispatch costly, delayed replacements.

The smart containers are particularly beneficial for chilled and frozen goods such as meat, seafood and dairy products.

MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys source most of their food locally—around 96 percent—but in the event of a product not being available nearby, goods arrive from a series of warehouses around the world. From its northern Italian warehouse in Genoa, MSC Cruises used smart containers last year and saw an improved level of quality assurance compared to the year before, when the line used traditional means of transporting food by road and sea.

The scale of the overall food delivery operation is considerable. Every year MSC Cruises’ fleet of 22 ships is stocked with 5,500 different food and beverage items, including 32 million eggs, 1.5 million gallons of milk, 170,000 oysters, 2 million tomatoes, 2 million pounds of apples and 1.7 million pounds of lemons.

On average, each of MSC Cruises’ 22 ships carries 50,000 pounds of fresh fruit, 44,000 pounds of fresh vegetables and 12,000 pounds of fish during a 7-night voyage.

Paolo Raia, Managing Director, MSC Procurement & Logistics, said: “The use of smart containers has made a significant positive impact on the supply of food, especially in markets where it is a challenge to source and acquire all of the products locally. For example, for our ships in the Middle East the local production is limited, and some goods can take several weeks travelling from the warehouse to the vessel.

“Another major advantage with smart containers is that in real time we can constantly monitor the humidity and temperature of the goods being transported and change the parameters in transit, if required, to deliver with absolute confidence the freshest and finest food for our guests.”

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Notes for Editors

Annually, MSC Cruises’ fleet of ships is stocked with the following provisions.

• Extra virgin olive oil – 59,000 gallons
• Flour – 11 million pounds
• Beer – 2.2 million gallons
• Cold cut meats – 844,000 pounds
• Soy sauce – 14,000 gallons
• Wasabi – 2,200 pounds
• Quinoa – 44,000 pounds

A typical 7-night voyage will be stocked with the following provisions.

• Butter – 2,200 pounds
• Wine – 9,500 bottles
• Sugar – 4,800 pounds
• Rice – 1,000 pounds

About MSC Cruises

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, MSC Cruises is the world’s third largest cruise line and the market leader in Europe, South America, the Middle East and Southern Africa, with a strong and growing presence in North America and the Far East.

The MSC Cruises fleet consists of 22 modern ships with three new vessels due to be launched in 2025, 2026, and 2027.

The Company operates in more than 100 countries around the world, offering cruises across five continents, calling at more than 300 destinations and welcoming more than 180 different nationalities on board.

MSC Cruises is firmly committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions for its marine operations by 2050.

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