Carnival Corporation has entered into a shipbuilding agreement for a third LNG-powered cruise ship for its AIDA Cruises brand, to be constructed by the renowned German shipbuilder Meyer Werft at its shipyard in Papenburg.
Expected to be delivered in 2023, the new vessel, weighing 180,000 tons, will boast approximately 2,700 staterooms and will incorporate Carnival Corporation’s environmentally conscious “green cruising” design.
The ship will be propelled both at sea and in port by liquefied natural gas (LNG), leading to a significant reduction in air emissions.
With this latest shipbuilding contract, AIDA Cruises now has three LNG ships on order. AIDAnova, set to join the fleet in December, represents the inaugural vessel of this new generation of LNG-powered ships and marks the world’s first cruise ship to operate entirely on LNG. The christening of the second ship in this series is scheduled for spring 2021.
The trio of next-generation LNG ships for AIDA Cruises forms part of Carnival Corporation’s overarching fleet enhancement strategy, which encompasses the delivery of 20 new ships between 2018 and 2023.
In total, Carnival Corporation has forged agreements with esteemed German and Finnish shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku to construct nine LNG-powered cruise ships, spanning four of its nine global cruise brands, with delivery dates scheduled between 2018 and 2023.
Of these vessels, three are designated for AIDA Cruises, with anticipated delivery windows ranging from 2018 to 2023. Additionally, two are earmarked for Costa Cruises, slated for delivery in 2019 and 2021, while two are destined for P&O Cruises UK, set to be delivered in 2020 and 2022. Carnival Cruise Line is also poised to receive two LNG-powered ships, expected to be delivered in 2020 and 2022.
