Mardi Gras calls at Rotterdam for LNG bunkering

Carnival Cruise Line, the world’s largest cruise ship operator, informed that its newly built LNG-powered cruise ship Mardi Gras has made its first port call in Rotterdam.

The vessel will complete its first LNG bunkering operation since being delivered from the Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku.

Mardi Gras is scheduled to depart Rotterdam on Wednesday and then sail to Barcelona, Spain, before making its eventual arrival in the U.S.

The ship’s inaugural voyage from Port Canaveral is scheduled for April 24, 2021. The vessel will be sailing from Port Canaveral in Florida and will be the first cruise ship in the Americas to be powered by LNG.

The vessel was delivered two months following the completion of sea trials.

The newbuild bears the same name as Carnival Cruise Line’s first ship launched in 1972.

At 180,000 tons, the 5,200-plus lower berth vessel will be more than six times the size of its namesake.

Carnival said LNG is considered the marine industry’s most advanced fuel technology.

LNG does require, larger, custom-built tanks than conventional fuel as well as specialized refueling stations, such as the one in Rotterdam.

One of the most technically advanced ships at sea, Mardi Gras is equipped with four medium-speed LNG engines that will be run in port and at sea. The ship can operate for two weeks between refuelings.