“MS” slid into the water last August 30th, at dusk, as part of a prestigious launch, to the gripping notes of “Nessun Dorma” from Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot, plus a burst of ruby-red rose petals that filled the sky, thrilling the more than 1500 people on hand for the event.
Pride and excitement were the emotions that accompanied the ceremony and the entry into the water of the imposing vessel built by the shipyard of Ferretti SpA for a Middle Eastern owner. Present at the momentous event were all the top executives of the company headquartered in Forlì, including Chairman Norberto Ferretti and Managing Driector Vincenzo Cannatelli, plus the entire management staff and many other employees of CRN. The launch began with words of greeting from Chairman Norberto Ferretti, followed by those of the Mayor of Ancona, Fabio Sturani, and of the Present of the Marche Region, Gian Mario Spacca, plus a speech, on behalf of the vessel’s owner, by Jean-Louis Mainguy, the Lebanese architect responsible for the design of the interior of the mega-yacht. Lamberto Tacoli, the Chairman of CRN, closed with these heartfelt words.
“Ferretti SpA launched its first pleasure ship exactly 10 years ago. To date nearly 200 have been delivered. This is truly a day for celebration, not only on the part of the owning company, but for our entire corporation: for the employees, the external staff and our suppliers – began Chairman Tacoli – This launch marks the close of an important year, during which we have been honoured by the visit of President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, while CRN has seen a lot of vessels leave its yards and head out to sea, including two steel ships measuring 54 and 57 metres, at the same time as our industrial capacity, fortunately still anchored in a craftsman’s approach, has continued to grow”.
Naturally a major launch called for a very special hostess: Barbara Tacoli, wife of CRN’s President, who was assisted with the traditional spectacle of the bottle-breaking by Norberto Ferretti.
The magnificent launch was followed by an exclusive party for over 600 lucky guests, who celebrate at the shipyard well past three in the morning.
On hand, as is the custom, were the leading local and regional authorities, plus numerous Members of Parliament from the Marches Region, as well as a good many celebrities from the business world and the Italian jet set.
Those present included designer Alberta Ferretti, Nerio Alessandro (Technogym), Ugo Brachetti Peretti (Api), Paolo Merloni (MTS Group) and Brunello Cucinelli (Cucinelli cashmere).
To make the occasion especially memorable, CRN organised the dinner around dishes from various parts of the world, holding it in a tent structure set up inside the shipyard.
The shipyard was transformed for the night into a private tourist port, where the guests were able to admire, docked at three wharfs, various yachts manufactured under the Ferretti SpA brand names. The party continued on late in the night, without interruption, to the music of a special guest performer, as Mario Biondi took the stage with the Duke Ensemble, offering a sophisticated soul-jazz concert that CRN invited the entire city of Ancona to attend.
The 37 year-old star from Catania, whose soul singing has taken him to the top of Italy’s LP charts during the last two years, warmed the guests with his hot, unmistakable style of soul, rhythm and blues.
Topping off the evening was a breathtaking fireworks display above the water in front of the shipyard, plus the disco music of DJ Ben, brought in from the Billionaire Beach Club of Porto Cervo, Sardinia, to get the guests dancing by the seaside.
The “MS”, a fully customised mega-yacht of the displacement type, is a result of the joint efforts of the CRN technical staff and the Zuccon International Project firm, which handled the external design, while the interiors are the work of the J.L. Mainguy firm.
The layout of the customised ship follows an innovative design, accurately reflecting the owner’s requests. Each of the five decks of the mega-yacht is “ranked”, with the importance of the guests increasing as one moves upward, pyramid-style, all the way to the sun deck, where the owner’s night zone holds a suite capped off by a set of semicircular windows at the bow.
The open portion of this deck is designed for spending pleasant evenings in the company of others. Inside is a resin-surfaced dance floor and a large, fully outfitted bar. The owner also decided to lengthen the closed portion of the upper deck astern, creating a large panoramic lounge that measures approximately 150 m2 and looks out on the sea.
An attentive distribution of the spaces has made it possible to create lodgings for no fewer than 38 crew members, in addition to the 18 lucky guests.
Even with its massive profile and majestic proportions, the vessel reaches a maximum speed of 17 knots and a cruising speed of 16. The new jewel of the Italian shipbuilding industry, the pride of the shipyard and its employees, the “MS” will soon begin sailing the seas worldwide, adding prestige to the CRN name wherever it goes.
