Carnival, Shell Strike Deal to Fuel LNG Cruise Ships

Posted by Greg Trauthwein November 8, 2017

AIDA Nova LNG Storage. (Image: Carnival Corp.)
Image: Carnival Corp.

The move toward LNG as fuel in the maritime sector received another boost when Carnival Cruise Line announced this morning the signing of an agreement with Shell NA LNG, LLC (Shell) for it to supply marine LNG to power North America’s first fully LNG-powered cruise ships. Shell will supply Carnival Cruise Line with fuel for its two new LNG-powered ships expected to launch in 2020 and 2022 and to be homeported in North America. The two ships will be fueled through Shell’s LNG Bunker Barge (LBB). The ocean-going LBB, which is designed to support growing cruise line demand for LNG as a marine fuel, will be the first of its kind in the U.S. and will allow these ships to refuel with LNG at ports along the southern U.S. East Coast.

The pair of 180,000-ton, 5,200-passenger CCL ships will be fully powered by LNG both while in port and at sea – an industry first and an environmental breakthrough that will improve air quality with cleaner emissions and produce the most efficient ships in company history.

“We are proud to be on the forefront of advancing LNG as a fuel source for the cruise industry," said Tom Strang, SVP of maritime affairs for Carnival Corporation. "One of the keys to establishing LNG as a standard for powering cruise ships is building out an extensive, safe and reliable infrastructure across the globe for this clean burning fossil fuel. We are looking forward to working closely with Shell as they help to bring LNG to North America in what we hope will be the first step in building a strong foundation for the future of LNG fuel supply for cruise ships in the region.”