The final stages of preparing Ocean Cay for MSC Cruises is underway and over $300 million has been invested in the undertakings so far.

MSC Cruises is the number one operator in Freeport for transshipment (Mediterranean Shipping Company) since 1997. The company has also been a part of the cruise division since 2004 and European Based, with some 17 cruise ships in its fleet.

With some three months before the first guests arrive on the cay via MSC Cruises, MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said yesterday that the company is committed to creating a paradise for tourists. 

According to Mr. Vago, what started out as an $80 million venture now exceeds $300 million in investments. 

“I want to tell you what an incredible story it has been to turn this site that was contaminated, that was full of waste material, that we found all kinds of things inside, from oil, from residual, even residual of old planes in the sand, we did an incredible job to actually restore it,” Mr. Vago said. 

“Once we restored it, once we reshaped it, once we started cleaning, we started shaping exactly what the design of the island was going to be. So from an industrial to a paradise, back to nature.”

Since the 1970s, Ocean Cay has been an industrial area with aragonite harvesting. 

With the full backing of the government, MSC plans to employ more than 100 Bahamians, according to Ocean Cay General Manager Michelle McGregor. 

“We’ve been working with the Department of Labour, the National Training Agency, in Freeport and in Nassau, to really try to get as many Bahamians as we can for the different expertise we have available and positions we have available on site,” Mrs. McGregor said. 

“We’ve been so lucky, we’ve had hundreds of applicants and we’ve probably have chosen 200 of them that we still need to now narrow down because I only have about 140 positions. I was able to find about 120 Bahamians that we’ll be able to place onsite.” 

Ocean Cay Marine Reserve anticipates opening November 9, 2019. 

MSC plans to invest $5 million over the next 10 years to further restore the island’s ecosystem.