Carnival Corporation, the biggest cruise operator in the world with 101 ships sailing for its different brands, ordered three new vessels today at a total cost of about one and a quarter billion pounds.
A 132,500-ton adaptation of the Concordia class will be built at Fincantieri’s Marghera yard near Venice for Costa line, which is Europe’s biggest cruise company, and whose latest vessel, Fascinosa, was floated out in the same yard only days ago. The new order will accommodate a maximum 4,928 passengers (3,700 at double occupancy).
It is the 10th ship ordered by Costa from Fincantieri in the last 10 years, and will be delivered in October 2014. It will replace capacity from the sale of some of Costa’s older ships – Marina will be leaving the fleet this November.
German brand AIDA is to have two 125,000-ton ships built by Mitsubishi in Japan. The 3,250-passenger vessels will be delivered in March 2015 and March 2016. AIDA operates eight ships, with two more under construction at the Meyer-Werft yard in Papenburg, Germany.
Carnival has not placed orders with Mitsubishi since 2004, when the company delivered Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess. The construction of Diamond was delayed when fire broke out in the partly-built hull and raged for 36 hours before it was extinguished.
Today’s orders bring the total number of Carnival ships to be built between now and 2016 to 10, and continue the company’s current strategy of introducing two or three new ships per year. It will take delivery of three next year, two each in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and one – so far – in 2016.
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