Miami-based cruise company Carnival Corporation & plc signed a memorandum of agreement with German and Finnish shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku to deliver three additional cruise ships that will be fully powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Two of the new LNG-powered ships, which will be built by Meyer Turku at its shipyard in Turku, Finland, are designated for Carnival Cruise Line. The vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2020 and 2022.
The third cruise ship will be built for UK’s P&O Cruises by Meyer Werft at its shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. This cruise ship is expected to join its owner in 2020.
The shipbuilding agreements are subject to several conditions, including satisfactory financing.
Furthermore, Carnival Corporation said that, in conjunction with the order, the delivery dates for the new builds for Germany-based AIDA Cruises and Italy-based Costa Cruises for 2020 would shift to 2021 to allow the company “to more effectively allocate measured capacity growth.”
In total, the company now has agreements in place to build seven LNG-powered cruise ships across four of its 10 cruise brands in coming years.
The first of these ships are expected to be in service for AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises in 2019.
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, Carnival Corporation has a total of 18 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2022.