Fincantieri signs agreements with Carnival Corporation and China State Shipbuilding Corporation
Fincantieri, the world leader in the construction of cruise ships, has signed two memorandums of understanding, respectively with Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise line, and with China CSSC Holdings Limited, controlled by CSSC (China State Shipbuilding Corporation), China’s largest shipbuilding conglomerate, which operates in different sectors, the company said in its press release.
These historic agreements aim to explore the possibility of joint ventures in cruise shipbuilding for the Chinese market. This would be an unprecedented, three-way collaborative effort to build the first-ever cruise ships to be made in China.
More particularly, Fincantieri would work with CSSC to develop cruise ships production capacity in China. Indeed, based on its experience as one of the world’s largest shipyards, Fincantieri would provide specialized services and components to support CSSC’s shipyards.
On its part, Carnival would work closely with CSSC and Fincantieri and contribute its expertise to create the vision, definition, and specifications for the China-built cruise ships.
The Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT) projects China to be the second largest global cruise market after the U.S. in the next several years based on economic growth, increased spending power of Chinese consumers and growing demand for cruise vacations. China could see 4.5 million cruise passengers by 2020, according to the MOT, and is expected to eventually become the world’s largest cruise market.
Potential partnerships like the ones being explored between Fincantieri, Carnival and CSSC are aimed at supporting the MOT's pro-growth cruise policies and the rise of overall tourism in China.
