Carnival Corporation announced it would be building three environmentally friendly cruise ships – heralding a new age of vessels.
The ships will be fully powered by Liquefied Natural Gas, the cleanest burning fossil fuel in the world. Two ships will join the Carnival Cruise Line fleet while one ship will be designated to P&O Cruises UK.
The two Carnival Cruise Line ships will be built by Meyer Turku at its shipyard in Turku, Finland while the new P&O Cruises UK ship will be built by Meyer Werft at its shipyard in Papenburg in Germany. The two Carnival Cruise Line vessels will be delivered in 2020 and 2022 while the P&O ship will set sail in 2020.
The ships are the first step forward towards the company’s next-generation of “green cruising” ship design. The three ships will be part of the first generation of cruise ships to be fully powered by LNG which is a step forward towards reducing air emissions.
“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 has delivered three new ships in 2016 for its AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line brands. The new Seabourn Encore will also be launching in December.
