Carnival Corporation & plc, the Anglo-American cruise shipping giant, says it has placed an order for four 180,000 gt LNG-powered cruise liners, for its AIDA Cruises unit in Germany. Two of the ships will be built at Meyer Turku in Finland and the other two at Meyer Werft in Papenburg in Germany.
The orders are part of a previously announced nine-ship strategic partnership for the world’s largest cruise company to cover deliveries from 2019 to 2022 that was agreed earlier this year. Another
five ships will be built at Fincantieri in Italy, according to the partnership. No details have been released about these as yet. Additional options are attached to the planned nine ships.
Carnival described the four ship deal as a multibillion euro contract, but it did not provide further details. They will be delivered in 2019 and 2020 respectively, AIDA said in a separate statement.
Based on Carnival’s design, each of the four next-generation ships will have a total capacity of 6,600 guests, feature more than 5,000 lower berths, exceed 180,000 gt and incorporate an extensive number of guest-friendly features. “A major part of the innovative design involves making much more efficient use of the ship’s spaces, creating an enhanced onboard experience for guests,” Carnival said.
“The four new ships will also feature a revolutionary “green cruising” design. The ships will be the first in the cruise industry to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) – the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel, representing a major environmental breakthrough,” Carnival said in a statement.
Carnival Corporation & plc CEO Arnold Donald said the contract is consistent with the company’s measured capacity growth strategy to replace ships with less efficient capacity with newer, larger and more fuel efficient vessels over time. “We are looking forward to executing on the next step in our fleet enhancement plan,” said Donald. “At a cost per berth in line with our existing order book, these new ships will enhance the return profile of our fleet.”
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
