Cruise conglomerate Carnival Corporation has ordered construction of two new cruise ships for Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
The two newbuilds will be sisters ships to Carnival Vista and Koningsdam respectively, currently under construction at Fincantieri shipyards.
The Carnival Cruise Line ship, the 26th unit in the liner’s fleet, with a gross tonnage of 133,500 tonnes, will have capacity for 3,954 passengers and will enter service in the spring of 2018.
The Holland America Line ship, a second Pinnacle class unit, will have a gross tonnage of 99,500 tonnes and accommodation for 2,650 passengers and will be delivered in autumn of 2018.
“This is an extremely important sign, especially if we consider the shipbuilding industry’s present period of evolution, both in Europe and Asia. Today Fincantieri can count on a solid order book, without equal in terms of diversification and quality of the product, which is a testament to our leadership in the cruise ship business sector, ” said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri.
Fincantieri has built 67 cruise ships since 1990 and further 17 units, 8 of which for Carnival Group, will be built by 2018 at the company’s shipyards.