Fincantieri to build two new cruise ships for Carnival Corporation
Fincantieri has signed a memorandum of agreement with Carnival Corporation & plc for the construction of two new cruise ships of an overall value exceeding EUR 1 billion These ships will be built for Holland America Line (HAL) and P rincess Cruises, the company said in its press release.
The final contracts, subject to several conditions, including satisfactory ship owner financing, are expected to be executed in early 2017. Holland America Line ’s new ship will be built at Fincantieri’s yard in Marghera, with an expected delivery in 2021. She will be a 99,500 ton and 2,660 - guest ship and the third “Pinnacle” class vess el, after ms Koningsdam, delivered in March 2016, and Nieuw Statendam, scheduled for delivery in 2018, both from Marghera shipyard.
The ship will feature several of the innovative venues that were already introduced on this class. The new Princess Cruises ship will be about 145,000 - tons, carry ing 3,660 passengers, and will include the signature elements that have become synonymous with the Princess guest experience.
She will be built in Monfalcone with an expected delivery in 2022, and will be the sixth "Royal" class vessel, featuring the successful design platform used on “Royal Princess” , delivered in 2013, “Regal Princess”, delivered in 2014, and “Majestic Princess”, the world’s first ship designed specifically for the Chinese market and scheduled for delivery at the end of March 2017, as well as its sister ships – the two yet-to-be-named vessels also under construction by Fincantieri scheduled for delivery in 2019 and 2020.
Each of these new ships will be specifically designed and developed for each brand and the guests and markets it will serve.
This agreement sums up to the historical program between Fincantieri , the world’s number one shipbuilding group by diversification, and Carnival Corporation, the largest leisure travel company with a portfolio of 10 cruise brands, operating 102 ships and 19 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2017 and 2022 , which led to the signing of contracts for five cruise ships in 2016 for several Carnival Corporation brands.
The collaboration between the two cruise industry giants is of strategic importance not only for the shipbuilding industry but for the entire domestic economy. In fact, the agreements highlight a long-term program by US-based Carnival Corporation, which has invested through its partner ship with Fincantieri over USD 25 billion in Italy, making it one of the country's largest foreign investors. In fact, Fincantieri has built 62 ships for Carnival Corporation’s different brands since 1990, with another 11 ships for the group currently in t he company’s orderbook.
Fincantieri is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups and number one by diversification and innovation. It is leader in cruise ship design and construction and a reference player in all high - tech shipbuilding indus try’s sectors, from naval to offshore vessels, from high - complex ity special vessels and ferries to mega - yachts, ship repair s and conversions, system s and components production and after - sales services. Headquartered in Trieste (Italy), the Group has built more than 7,000 vessels in over 230 years of maritime history. With almost 19, 000 employees, of whom more than 7,800 in Italy, 20 shipyards in 4 continents, today Fincantieri is the leading Western shipbuilder. It has among its clients the major cruise operators, the Italian and the U.S. Navy, in addition to several foreign navies, and it is partner of some of the main European defense companies within supranational programmes.
