Carnival begins construction of world's first fully LNG-powered cruise ship

MIAMI — Carnival Corporation & plc marked the official beginning of construction for the first of its seven next-generation cruise ships that will be fully-powered by LNG with a keel-laying ceremony at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg.

These new ships will be the first in the cruise industry that can use LNG to generate 100% of their power both in port and on the open sea. These seven ships, with delivery dates between 2018 and 2022, will be built by leading German and Finnish shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku.

Following the introduction of AIDAnova in 2018, Carnival Corporation's Costa Cruises brand will debut the industry's next cruise ship that can be powered completely by LNG on the open seas in 2019—the first steel-cutting ceremony for this ship is scheduled at the Meyer Turku shipyard in the coming week. LNG-powered ships for Carnival Cruise Line and P&O Cruises (UK) will follow in 2020. Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises will each receive an additional LNG-powered ship in 2021, followed by an additional LNG-powered ship for Carnival Cruise Line in 2022.

In October 2016, Carnival Corporation signed a framework agreement with Shell Western LNG B.V. to be its supplier of marine LNG to power the first two of its new LNG ships for AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises with itineraries visiting popular European ports. As part of the agreement, the ships will utilize Shell's infrastructure in cruise ports to refuel with LNG throughout their itineraries.

In 2015, as a pilot project, AIDAsol from the company's AIDA Cruises brand was the first cruise ship in the world to be supplied with power by an LNG Hybrid barge and, last year, the newly delivered AIDAprima became the first cruise ship to routinely use LNG with a dual-fuel powered engine while in port. Its sister ship, AIDAperla, debuted this April with the same technology.

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