AIDAprima, World’s First Dual-Fuel Cruise Ship, Christened in Germany

AIDAprima during the christening ceremony in Hamburg, Germany. Credit: Carnival Corp,

Aida Cruises’ new flagship AIDAprima was christened in Germany over the weekend in a grand ceremony taking place during the Port of Hamburg’s 827th anniversary celebration.

AIDAprima was launched as the Aida’s most environmentally friendly ship and the first cruise ship in the world to be equipped with a dual-fuel engine that can be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). On Saturday, the cruise ship completed a full test run for its LNG operation, meaning the ship will be able to operate using LNG while in port.

The 124,100-ton vessel will be able to accommodate 3,300 passengers and is the first to be homeported year-round in Hamburg, Germany. The ship was delivered by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in March following several construction delays. The ship is also the first cruise ship to get Mitsubishi’s Air Lubrication System designed for increased fuel efficiency.

“The christening was an emotional moment for me – I’m very proud of our new ship,” said Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises. “With AIDAprima and the next three new ships to be built for our line, we are once again charting new territory in the tourism industry, and we will continue to drive growth in the German cruise market.”

Carnival Corporation, parent to Aida Cruises, has now taken delivery of three new ships in 2016, which have already included Carnival Cruise Line 3,954-passenger Carnival Vista on April 28 and Holland America Line’s 2,650-passenger MS Koningsdam on April 2. Carnival is scheduled to receive its fourth new ship delivery of 2016 when the Seabourn Encore joins the fleet later this year.

Including the Encore, Carnival Corporation now has a total of 15 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2020. This includes Carnival Corporation’s four next-generation cruise ships for Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises set to be delivered in 2019 and 2020 that will be the first in the industry to be powered at sea by LNG. Different from AIDAprima, these new ships will use LNG to generate 100 percent of the ship’s power both in port and at sea.

Here’s some video of the AIDAprima’s arrival and christening in Hamburg: