Alstom signed a contract worth $1.17B to build two cruise ships for Italian line MSC in a deal which might avert restructuring of its shipbuilding business following the near bankruptcy of the group last year. The order for the ships, which will each measure 1,106 ft. in length and offer 1,650 cabins, was signed by the chief executive of MSC, Pierre Francesco Vago and his counterpart from Alstom Marine, Patrick Boissier, during a press conference on Monday. The giant liners will be slightly smaller than the 345-metre Queen Mary 2, the biggest cruise ship in the world. They will be built in the shipyard in the French port of Saint Nazaire where the Queen Mary 2 was launched last year.
