SHANGHAI, Oct 15 (Reuters) – China, the world’s largest shipbuilder, is looking to build its first luxury cruise vessel, with help from cruise operator Carnival Corp and Italian shipyard Fincantieri SpA, as the country looks to expand domestic tourism.
Carnival said on Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), with the eventual aim of forming a joint venture that would also include Italy’s Fincantieri.
China’s cruise industry is predicted to become one of the world’s largest with 4.5 million passengers by 2020, according to government figures. It has become a top target for firms like Carnival and Royal Caribbean as its fast-growing middle class eye new holiday options.
Carnival said it would provide ship design and shipbuilding expertise to help create and define the overall specifications for the China-built cruise ship. It said the MoU also included other opportunities, such as the formation of a domestic cruise company.
China’s shipbuilding industry, which stormed past South Korea to become the world’s largest in 2010, has been hit hard by a prolonged global shipping slump. That has left many of its yards with high debt burdens and a lack of orders.
The government has moved to support the industry, which employs millions of workers, by providing subsidies to encourage shipping lines to order new ships. It has also encouraged yards to venture into building higher-tech vessels, such as offshore equipment.
CSSC, one of China’s top two state-owned shipbuilding firms, has shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through its subsidiary China CSSC Holdings. At 0334 GMT, shares in CSSC Holdings were down 3.8 percent, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.4 percent. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
COPENHAGEN, April 15 (Reuters) – Shipping company Maersk has not made any deployment changes after a Portuguese-flagged container ship was seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the Danish company said on Monday. “We find recent...
WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – The FBI has opened a federal criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of a Baltimore bridge last month when a ship crashed into one of its supports,...
By Daryna Krasnolutska (Bloomberg) Russia and Ukraine may have struggled to shift things significantly on the battlefield for more than 16 months, but a new phase of the war is moving...
April 14, 2024
Total Views: 2113
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.