Meyer Werft lays keel for first LNG-fueled cruise ship

Giving the "full steam ahead" signal for the keel laying of the first LNG-fueled cruise ship (L to R): Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises; Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation; Bernard Meyer, CEO of Meyer Yards, Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Group, David Dingle, Chairman of Carnival UK, Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises

SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 — Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), yesterday marked the official beginning of construction for the first of seven LNG-fueled cruise ships with a ceremony at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg.

Using a traditional engine room telegraph, the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg got the “full steam ahead” signal for the keel laying of the AIDAnova, from Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, together with Bernard Meyer, CEO of Meyer Werft, Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia, and representatives of three of the Carnival Corporation brands that will receive the LNG fueled ships – David Dingle, chairman of Carnival UK; Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises; and Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises.

“Today marked a significant milestone in the construction of this next-generation of Carnival Corporation ships featuring our ‘green cruising’ design, which will be the most environmentally friendly ships in our company’s history,” said Mr. Donald. “We are committed to continuing to reduce air emissions and improving air quality by evaluating both new and established solutions, including LNG. We are proud to be on the forefront of advancing LNG as a fuel source for the cruise industry, and we appreciate our long-standing partnership with Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku. We look forward to the delivery of these beautiful and innovative ships that will help us meet our top goal – to provide extraordinary vacation experiences for our guests that exceed all of their expectations.”

“We thank Carnival Corporation and AIDA Cruises very much for their trust and their pioneering decision to implement LNG technology onboard their cruise ships,” said Mr. Meyer. “The corresponding infrastructure is now being developed at numerous ports – Carnival Corporation has made a decision that not only benefits the environment, but that also is highly important for the whole cruise industry.”

In October 2016, Carnival Corporation signed a framework agreement with Shell Western LNG B.V. (Shell) 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. The vessels, equipped with dual-fuel Caterpillar MaK engines, are the first of a new generation of cruise ships fully powered by LNG both while in port and at sea.