Carnival Cruise Line has ordered two more cruise ships that will not only be the largest cruise ships in their fleet, but will also be fully powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG is the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel). The ships will be 180,000 gross tons in size and each carry 5,200 passengers.
Carnival Corporation said that these two new LNG-powered ships will be built by Meyer Turku at its shipyard in Turku, Finland, with delivery dates expected in 2020 and 2022. In addition to the two cruise ships for Carnival Cruise Line, the company also ordered a ship for their P&O Brand.
In total, the company 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.
Based on Carnival Corporation’s next-generation “green cruising” ship design, these new vessels will be part of the first generation of cruise ships to be fully powered by LNG, which is an industry first and an environmental breakthrough that will produce the most efficient ships in the company’s history. Pioneering a new era in the use of alternative fuels that reduce air emissions, these new ships will use LNG to generate 100 percent of the ship’s power both in port and on the open sea – an innovation that will significantly reduce exhaust emissions to help protect the environment and support the company’s aggressive sustainability goals.
Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation, gave the following statement: 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.
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.”
As part of its fleet enhancement plan, Carnival Corporation 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. Including Seabourn Encore and the three new ships announced today for Carnival Cruise Line and P&O Cruises UK, Carnival Corporation has a total of 18 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2022.
Itineraries and home ports for these new cruise ships will be announced at a later time. Cruise Fever will have all information about these two new cruise ships when more details are released.
Which cruise ports have LNG facilities?