MIAMI, Sept. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), CUK), the world's
largest leisure travel company, today announced that its cruise
joint venture in China has signed
a non-binding memorandum of agreement (MOA) to order the industry's
first new cruise ships built in China for the Chinese market. The MOA is
subject to several conditions including closing of the joint
venture, financing and other key terms.
As part of the new MOA, Carnival Corporation's cruise joint
venture in China agreed to order
two new cruise ships to be built by a newly formed China-based shipbuilding joint venture between
China's largest shipbuilder, China
State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), and Italy-based Fincantieri S.p.A., the world's
largest cruise shipbuilding company. The MOA also grants Carnival
Corporation's cruise joint venture the option to order two
additional China-built cruise
ships.
Carnival Corporation's cruise joint venture in China will operate the new ships as part of
its plans to launch the first multi-ship domestic cruise brand in
China. Based on Carnival
Corporation's Vista-class platform, the design for the new ships
will be tailored for the new Chinese cruise brand and the specific
tastes of Chinese travelers. The first of these ships is expected
for delivery in 2022.
The partners signed the memorandum of agreement at a signing
ceremony held today at the 11th annual China Cruise
Shipping and International Cruise Expo (CCS11) in Tianjin, China.
Carnival Corporation's cruise joint venture – a partnership
announced last fall with CSSC and China Investment Capital
Corporation (CIC Capital) in which Carnival Corporation holds a
minority interest – is expected to initially launch its new
domestic Chinese cruise brand using ships that are purchased from
Carnival Corporation's existing fleet and homeported in
China. Based on the MOA announced
today, the joint venture would then add new China-built cruise ships starting in 2022 to
further accelerate growth in the Chinese cruise market, which is
expected to eventually become the largest cruise market in the
world.
Separately, Carnival Corporation and its Chinese partners also
announced today that the Chinese central government has now granted
approval for the cruise joint venture to officially incorporate in
Hong Kong. This news follows a
standard regulatory approval process with Chinese officials that
has taken place since the joint venture agreement was originally
announced in London in
October 2015.
"We are excited about the potential for the first new cruise
ships to be built and deployed in China for the enjoyment of Chinese travelers,
which will be an important milestone in the development of the
Chinese cruise market," said Alan
Buckelew, global chief operations officer for Carnival
Corporation. "As we work with our Chinese partners to launch the
first domestic Chinese cruise brand in the next few years, being
able to offer cruises on China-built cruise ships represents a new
opportunity for us to generate excitement and demand for cruising
amongst a broader segment of the Chinese vacation market, which is
already the largest in the world and continues to see strong growth
every year."
Buckelew added: "We see this collaboration with CSSC and
Fincantieri as a potential cornerstone of a domestic cruise
presence in China, serving Chinese
guests with world-class cruise ships that are built in China for the first time. We are grateful to
have this opportunity, and we look forward to strengthening our
partnership as we continue supporting China's goal to be one of the world's leading
cruise markets."
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the largest leisure travel company in
the world, with a portfolio of 10 cruise brands in North
America, Europe, Australia and Asia comprised
of Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America
Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA
Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O
Cruises (Australia)
and P&O Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 101 ships visiting over 700 ports
around the world and totaling 225,000 lower berths with 18 new
ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and
2022. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates
Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies
in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both
the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival
Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be
included in both the S&P500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, www.pocruises.com and www.fathom.org.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc