MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Carnival and associates to incorporate nine new cruise vessels by 2022

Carnival Corporation signed this week two strategic memorandums that will add nine new cruise ships to the company’s fleet over a four-year period

Carnival Corporation enters into strategic partnerships to add nine cruise ships to its fleet over a four-year period starting in 2019; shipbuilders Fincantieri and Meyer Werft to each build next-generation cruise ships for Carnival Corporation through two separate, long-term partnerships, reports Maritime Link.

 Carnival Corporation & plc signed this week two strategic memorandums of agreement that will add a total of nine new cruise ships to the company’s fleet over a four-year period from 2019-2022. The shipbuilding agreements, which include options for additional ship builds in the coming years, are subject to several conditions, including satisfactory financing.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A and German shipbuilder Meyer Werft will each build new ships based on Carnival Corporation’s next-generation ship designs, which will produce the most efficient ships in the company’s history, Carnival said. The new ships are expected to serve established cruise markets in North America and Europe, as well as newer markets, including China.

“We’re excited to take this next step in our fleet enhancement plan with these two new agreements that are consistent with our long-term strategy of measured capacity growth over time,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation. “These will be the most efficient ships we have ever built and the great guest experience will create even more excitement around cruising – helping new cruisers realize the superior vacation experience and value that cruising offers versus land-based vacations.”

Fincantieri will develop and construct five ships at its shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, Italy.

“Today's announcement provides us with a long-term strategic prospective, and reinforces the extraordinary partnership between us and Carnival Corporation, developed over time thanks to the confidence the group has always shown in us, which we assure will be once again well placed,” said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri.

Meyer Werft will build its four ships at its shipyards in Papenburg, Germany, and Turku, Finland. Now in its seventh generation of family ownership, Meyer Werft has become known for constructing large, modern and sophisticated cruise ships, including 39 luxury ships the company has built for its customers around the world.

Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft, said, “We are very happy and honored that Carnival Corporation trusts our strength to bring this ambitious new-building program to life in Turku and Papenburg.”

As part of each company’s long-term strategic partnership with Carnival Corporation, additional new ship orders are being explored over the coming decade.

Carnival Corporation’s fleet enhancement strategy will add two new ships to its fleet in 2015 and remove four ships from the fleet. P&O Cruises UK officially launched Britannia, the largest ship ever designed exclusively for Britain, in a naming ceremony earlier this month. The AIDA Cruises fleet will welcome AIDA-prima later this year.