Carnival Corporation said it has signed a multi-billion dollar contract to build four next-generation cruise ships with the largest guest capacity in the world.
The contract with Meyer Werft is part of larger previously signed strategic memo of understanding with leading shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Fincantieri for nine new ship orders between 2019 and 2022, the company said in a statement.
The four new ships will also feature a “green cruising” design. The ships will be the first in the cruise industry to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas.
The company said two of the ships will be manufactured for AIDA Cruises at Meyer Werft’s shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Additional information about the ships, including which new ships will be added to each brand, will be made available at a later date.
Based on Carnival Corporation’s innovative new ship 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 gross tons 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.
Pioneering a new era in the use of sustainable fuels, the four new ships will be the first in the cruise industry to use LNG in dual-powered hybrid engines to power the ship both in port and on the open sea. LNG will be stored onboard and used to generate 100 percent power at sea – producing another industry-first innovation for Carnival Corporation and its brands. Using LNG to power the ships in port and at sea will eliminate emissions of soot particles and sulfur oxides.
In addition to the two ships being built in Germany, Meyer Werft – which had the capacity to accommodate these four ship-building orders in its production schedule — will also build the two additional ships detailed at its shipyard in Turku, Finland.
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Image: Meyer Werft