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p&o cruises gala cruise ship

Carnival Corp. Expands Cruise Ship Orderbook with Eighth LNG-Powered Newbuild

Mike Schuler
Total Views: 113
January 25, 2018

Illustration of the next-generation ‘Gala’ cruise ship for P&O Cruises. Photo: Carnival Corp.

Cruise ship giant Carnival Corporation announced Thursday it has signed yet another shipbuilding contract for a second LNG-powered cruise ship for its P&O Cruises brand with leading German shipbuilder Meyer Werft.

The next-generation newbuild is scheduled to be delivered in 2022.

Similar to a P&O Cruises sister ship due for delivery in 2020, this second new vessel will be the largest cruise ship to be built specifically for the British market. It will be 180,000 gross tons and will accommodate approximately 5,200 guests (lower berths). Both new ships will be registered in the UK.

The newbuid is part of Carnival Corporation’s aggressive fleet expansion strategy with 19 new ships scheduled for delivery between 2018 and 2022 to keep pace with the growing demand for new capacity.

The latest newbuild will be built by Meyer Werft at its shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and feature the corporation’s exclusive “green cruising” design as one of the first generation of cruise ships to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) both while in port and at sea, which will significantly reduce air emissions with the shipping industry’s most advanced fuel technology.

“We are seeing the momentum in awareness of cruising both across the media and in our national psyche as ever-increasing numbers of people see first-hand the value for money, unrivalled service and extraordinary onboard experience,” Carnival UK president Josh Weinstein. “These two next-generation ships for delivery in the next four years are real and tangible evidence of our absolute optimism for future growth.”

In total, Carnival Corp. has agreements in place for 19 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2018 and 2022. Included in those are eight LNG-powered cruise ships under contract with Meyer Werft and its sister yard Meyer Turku in Finland. The LNG-powered ships including two for AIDA Cruises with expected delivery dates in 2018 and 2021, two for Costa Cruises with expected delivery dates in 2019 and 2021, two for P&O Cruises UK with expected delivery dates in 2020 and 2022 and two for Carnival Cruise Line with expected delivery dates in 2020 and 2022.

“We are very happy to continue our excellent partnership with Carnival Corporation and P&O Cruises,” said Thomas Weigend, managing director of Meyer Werft.

Currently, Carnival Corp. operates 103 ships across 10 brands with 231,000 lower berths.

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