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carnival cruise ship

Carnival Orders Three LNG-Powered Cruise Ships at Meyer Yards

gCaptain
Total Views: 7
September 6, 2016

Photo: gary yim / Shutterstock.com

The world’s largest cruise ship company, Carnival Corporation, is expanding its LNG-powered fleet by signing a memorandum of agreement with leading German and Finnish shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku to deliver three additional next-generation cruise ships. The three ships will be fully powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the cleanest burning fossil fuel in the world.

Carnival Corporation said two of the new LNG-powered ships are designated Carnival Cruise Line and will be built by Meyer Turku at its shipyard in Turku, Finland, with delivery dates expected in 2020 and 2022.

The third ship will be built for P&O Cruises UK by Meyer Werft at its shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, with delivery expected in 2020.

In conjunction with the order, the 2020 delivery dates for the new builds for Germany-based AIDA Cruises and Italy-based Costa Cruises, both Carnival Corp. brands, will shift to 2021. Carnival says this will allow the company to more effectively allocate measured capacity growth across its 10 global cruise brands in more markets throughout the world.

In total, Carnival Corp. now has agreements in place to build seven LNG-powered cruise ships across four of its 10 global cruise brands in coming years. As previously announced, the first of these ships is expected to be in service for AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises in 2019.

The new vessels will be part of the first generation of cruise ships to be fully powered by LNG. The new ships will use LNG to generate 100 percent of the ship’s power both in port and at sea.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of introducing LNG-powered ships to the cruise industry, working with our partners to achieve shipbuilding breakthroughs like this that will help us produce the most efficient and sustainable ships we have ever built,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc. “This is also an important step in our fleet enhancement plan that enables us to execute on our long-term strategy of measured capacity growth over time, while delivering innovative new ships that further elevate our already great guest experience. Every time we launch a new ship, we have a new opportunity to create excitement and show consumers why cruising is a great vacation at an exceptional value, especially for those who typically consider land-based vacations.”

Carnival Corporation now has a total of 18 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2022. As part of its fleet enhancement plan, Carnival Corp. has already taken delivery of three new ships in 2016 for its AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line brands, and plans to launch the all-new Seabourn Encore in December 2016.

“We are excited to welcome P&O Cruises back to Meyer Werft in Germany and Carnival Cruise Line back to Meyer Turku in Finland,” said Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft. “These new ships will be built in our most modern and environmentally friendly facilities, and we are very proud to design, build and deliver these ships that provide breakthroughs in innovation and for the environment.”

The shipbuilding agreements are subject to several conditions, including financing.

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