Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/926592
B M & T ••• November/December 2017 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 30 C R U I S E N E W S CARNIVAL CORPORATION BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF WORLD'S FIRST FULLY LNG-POWERED CRUISE SHIP World's Largest Leisure Travel Company Celebrates Keel-Laying Ceremony for First of Seven Next-Generation Cruise Ships to be Fully Powered By Liquefied Natural Gas, World's Cleanest Burning Fossil Fuel Leading German Shipbuilder Meyer Werft Lowered First Building Block Into Place for Environmentally Friendly Aidanova, Which Will Join Company's AIDA Cruises Brand in Late 2018 C arnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel com- pany, marked the official beginning of construction for the first of its seven next-generation cruise ships that will be fully-powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) with a keel-lay- ing ceremony at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg. Pioneering a new era in the use of low-carbon fuels, these new ships will be the first in the cruise industry that can use LNG to generate 100 percent of their power both in port and on the open sea – an innovation that will reduce exhaust emis- sions to help protect the environment and support Carnival Corporation's aggressive sustainability goals. These seven ships, with delivery dates between 2018 and 2022, will be built by leading German and Finnish shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku. Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, together with Bernard Meyer, CEO of Meyer Yards, Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia, and representatives of three of the Carnival Corporation brands that will receive the LNG ships – David Dingle, chair- man of Carnival UK; Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises; and Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises – gave the official "full steam ahead" signal for the keel laying of the first ship of the new LNG generation, AIDAnova, which will be delivered by Meyer Werft Papenburg in fall 2018. "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 environmen- tally friendly ships in our company's history," said Donald, the corporation's CEO. "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 Meyer. "The corresponding infrastructure is now being developed at numer- ous ports – Carnival Corporation has made a decision that not only benefits the environment, but that also is highly important for the whole cruise industry." Following the introduction of AIDAnova in 2018, Carnival Carnival Keel Laying Group