Carnival Corp Leans on Tech to Boost Vessel Efficiency, Cut Emissions
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Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, is advancing greater fuel efficiency for propulsion through hull designs and new hardware and technology, along with underwater drone inspection and cleaning trials.This work is done through complementary strategies focused on maximizing hydrodynamic performance and enhancing ongoing hull maintenance, which reduces a ship’s underwater drag. Here's a synopsis of the CCL strategy:Hull Designs: When selecting the optimal hull design…
Cruise Shipping’s Historic Rebound
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Battered by Covid, the cruise industry was down but not out. Today it is setting records in passenger count + the size and cost of a new fleet.Post-Pandemic, the fortunes of the big cruise companies have brightened dramatically. A late December, 2024 earnings release from Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL), encompassing brands including Carnival Cruise, Holland America, Cunard, Princess Cruises and others, says it all: “This has been an incredibly strong finish to a record year,” said CCL’s CEO Josh Weinstein, in its statement.
Silverstream Opens Operations Center in the UK
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Maritime air lubrication company Silverstream Technologies has opened its new Global Operations Center in Southampton, U.K., in an effort to enhance its operational capabilities and support the existing fleet. The new hub, which accommodates more than 40 employees, is also equipped for further R&D on Silverstream’s Control and Monitoring System (CMS) solutions.Founded in 2010, Silverstream completed its first installation in 2014 and today has 80 systems installed on board ships.
Carnival Orders Three Mega Cruise Ships from Fincantieri
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Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company, announced on Tuesday that it has ordered a trio of ultra large cruise ships from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for its Carnival Cruise Line brand.At nearly 230,000 gross registered tonnes, and with capacity for nearly 8,000 passengers in 3,000 guest staterooms, the new ships will be the largest in Carnival's global fleet.The three liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled ships will be delivered in the summers of 2029, 2031 and 2033…
Carnival to Sunset P&O Cruises Australia
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Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company, announced that in March 2025, the company will sunset the P&O Cruises Australia brand.The New-York-listed cruise giant said the move is once of several intended to increase guest capacity for its flagship brand, Carnival Cruise Line, which will absorb the operations of shuttered Australian cruise brand. P&O Cruises Australia ships Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure will be rebranded and operated by Carnival Cruise Line…
Carnival Rolls Out Starlink Across Its Entire Global Fleet
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Cruise giant Carnival Corporation on Tuesday announced it has installed Starlink across the entirety of its global fleet, unlocking high-speed, low-latency global internet connectivity for all of its vessels.The world's largest cruise company said the completed installation further enhances the onboard experience for its guests and crew to provide even faster service, greater capacity, and more reliable Wi-Fi on its fleet of 90-plus ships across its portfolio of cruise brands.
Fincantieri Delivers Cruise Ship Queen Anne to Cunard
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Carnival Corporation's Cunard cruise line announced it has taken delivery of its newest cruise ship, Queen Anne, from Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri.The newbuild was officially handed over on Friday during a ceremony at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard in Venice. The 114,000-ton ship spans 14 decks and has capacity for up to 3,000 passengers.Queen Anne, the 249th ship to sail under the Cunard flag – and the third built by Fincantieri – will now set sail for Southampton ahead of her seven-night maiden voyage to Lisbon on May 3. She will arrive in her homeport on April 27.
Carnival Corporation Progresses its Sustainability Goals
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Carnival Corporation has released its 14th annual sustainability report detailing how it achieved several 2030 environmental goals well in advance.The company is producing 10+% less absolute GHG emissions today than in 2011, its peak historical year, despite increasing capacity by roughly 30% since that time. Tracking toward its 2030 goal four years ahead of schedule, the company formally committed to reducing its GHG intensity by at least 20% by 2026 (versus 2019 levels; measured on a lower berth capacity basis).
Carnival Signs LTSA with MAN PrimeServ
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MAN Energy Solutions, MAN Energy Solutions USA and Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise company, have signed a service agreement (LTSA) for five of Carnival’s Vista Class cruise ships powered by MAN 48/60CR type engines. The scope of the agreement covers the management of all maintenance, including planning, parts, technical advisory service, training and remote monitoring support. MAN Energy Solutions will manage the agreement via MAN PrimeServ, its after-sales brand.Riccardo Cordara…
Americraft Marine Appoints Peter Fetten as Chairman
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Americraft Marine, one of the maritime subsidiaries of Libra Group that owns and operates a Jones Act shipbuilding facility in Palatka, Fla., has announced the appointment of Peter Fetten as Chairman of Americraft.A seasoned leader with four decades in the marine engineering and shipbuilding sectors, Fetten will help shape the strategic direction of Americraft Marine as it works to advance U.S. shipbuilding and the demand for Jones Act vessels. Americraft Marine's St. Johns Ship Building…
Seatrium Scoops $259M Worth of Repairs and Upgrades Work
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Singapore-based Seatrium has secured a series of major contracts for vessel repairs, upgrades and conversions, set for completion by the end of 2025.With an aggregate value of S$350 million ($259 million), the contracts have reinforced Seatrium’s reputation as a one of the market leaders in vessel repairs, upgrades and conversions.The diverse range of complex contracts secured by Seatrium Repairs and Upgrades include the upgrades and conversions of Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRU)…
Carnival Orders Excel-class Cruise Ship
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Fresh on the heels of its first newbuild order in five years, the world's largest cruise company has placed an order for an additional vessel.U.S.-based Carnival Corporation on Tuesday announced it has signed an agreement with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft to build an Excel-class cruise ship for its Carnival Cruise Line brand for expected delivery in 2028.The ship will be the 11th Excel-class ship for the corporation's fleet across four of its brands, and the fifth to be sailed by Carnival Cruise Line.
Report: Sustainable Shipping Fuels Can Reach Cost Parity by 2035
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Sustainable shipping fuels could reach cost parity with fossil fuels as early as 2035 with the help of decisive emissions policy such as carbon taxes and emissions limits, according to a new report launched by Wärtsilä.The report, titled ‘Sustainable fuels for shipping by 2050 – the 3 key elements of success’, states that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and FuelEU Maritime Initiative will see the cost of using fossil fuels more than double by 2030. By 2035, they will close the price gap between fossil fuels and sustainable fuels for the very first time.Existing decarbonisation solutions…
Carnival Orders Another Cruise Ship from Meyer Werft
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German shipbuilder Meyer Werft reports it has secured an order from U.S.-based Carnival Corporation for the construction of a new cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line. The newbuild order is the first placed by Carnival Corporation in five years.Slated for delivery in 2027, the Excel-class ship will be a sister vessel to the 183,200 GT Carnival Jubilee, which was handed over at the end of 2023."Our Excel-class ships have been a tremendous addition to the Carnival fleet and proven very popular with our guests," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Seaside LNG Performs US Gulf Coast's First Ship-to-ship LNG Bunkering
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Seaside LNG announced its liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville delivered fuel to Carnival cruise ship Carnival Jubilee in Galveston, Texas, marking the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering delivery along the U.S. Gulf Coast.The bunkering operation took place on December 30, 2023, after months of careful coordination with all parties involved, including the Port of Galveston, Seaside LNG said.The 2,200 cubic meter bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville, previously stationed in Florida…
Aiming for Zero Waste Discharge to Sea
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Advanced water treatment systems are just the start of the cruise industry’s circular waste processing ambitions.Advanced wastewater treatment systems (AWTS) were revolutionary in their day. Indeed, they still are today, but with 77% of the CLIA fleet (202 ships) already using them, and another 40 specified for vessels on order, even more ambitious waste management is coming.Martin Shutler, Principal Engineer, Product Development, at Wärtsilä Water and Waste, notes that in recent…
Seaside LNG and Carnival Corporation Partner to Fuel LNG-Powered Cruise Ship in Galveston
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Seaside LNG and Carnival Corporation have entered into a term bunkering agreement to fuel the Carnival Jubilee, the first LNG-propelled cruise ship to call Galveston, Texas, its homeport.Seaside’s barge, the Clean Jacksonville, will move from Jacksonville, Florida, to operate out of Galveston and serve the Texas Gulf Coast with its first LNG delivery to the Carnival Jubilee in December 2023. With the assistance of the Port of Galveston, Seaside aligned all stakeholders to ensure the proper infrastructure is in place to begin the operation this winter.Initially…
Carnival Signs 15-year Service Deal with ABB
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ABB announced it has secured a 15-year agreement covering service for Carnival Corporation brand vessels powered by Azipod XO electric propulsion systems.The deal aims to simplify service management of Azipod XO propulsion units, with ABB experts remotely available 24/7 to support the vessels’ electric engineering crew on maintenance, based on ABB Ability Remote Diagnostic System and ABB Ability Condition Monitoring for Azipod propulsion. The owner accumulates data about Azipod propulsion performance…
Fincantieri Floats Out LNG-fueled Cruise Ship for Princess
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Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri announced it has floated out Princess Cruises' latest newbuild, Sun Princess, in Monfalcone.At 175,500 gross tons Sun Princess is the largest ship built in Italy to date. It is also the first cruise ship built by Fincantieri to run on cleaner burning liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well Princess Cruises’ first dual-fuel vessel powered primarily by LNG.Scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024, Sun Princess is the lead vessel of Princess’ Sphere class, which includes a second ship slated for 2025 delivery.
Floating on Bubbles: Carnival Corp expands use of Air Lubrication to cut Emissions
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As the ship owners globally experiment with technologies to help incrementally cut emissions to meet stringent new IMO mandates, news out of south Florida indicates that Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company, has made plans to expand the installation and use of Air Lubrication Systems (ALS) to a majority of the cruise line brands in its fleet through 2027; a move the cruise major expects witll generate "significant savings in fuel consumption and carbon emissions" by reducing hull drag by approximately 5% per ship.The pick for air lubrication is the Silverstream System ALS…
Holland America Line Trials Biofuels on Board Volendam
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Carnival Corporation's Holland America Line brand announced it has completed a 20-day trial of cleaner-burning biofuel on board its cruise ship Volendam, reporting a decrease in lifecycle emissions compared to marine gas oil.Wrapping up at Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the long-term test was conducted in partnership with GoodFuels, a producer and supplier of sustainable biofuels for the transportation industry, and Wärtsilä, manufacturer of power and propulsion technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine market.The assessment was completed September 7.
Carnival's AIDA Cruises Makes Biofuels Foray
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German cruise operator AIDA Cruises, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, has for the first time started to use biofuels in regular ship operations as part of its CO2 emissions reduction efforts.On July 21, 2022, during its layover in Rotterdam, AIDAprima became the first larger scale cruise ship to be bunkered with a blend of marine biofuel from Dutch supplier GoodFuels made from 100% sustainable raw materials such as waste cooking oil, and marine gas oil (MGO).
Batteries, Fuel Cells, Solar, Wind Power and More: Cruise Operator Costa Group Sets Up Decarbonization Department
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The European cruise company, Costa Group, with its Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises brands, which is part of Carnival Corporation, has created a dedicated decarbonization department within its Carnival Maritime unit based in Hamburg, Germany.The new department will be responsible for developing and implementing the strategy for achieving the decarbonization ambitions of the Costa and AIDA fleets by 2050. The effort will have a strong focus on research and development, energy management…