Carnival Cruise Line christens newest LNG-fuelled cruise ship

Carnival Cruise Line, the world’s largest cruise company, has held a naming ceremony for its newest LNG-powered cruise ship, Mardi Gras.

The ceremony took place on 23 October at Port Canaveral and marked the first ship naming ceremony held in the U.S. since the cruise industry’s restart this summer. The 180,000-ton Mardi Gras, which was delivered to the company in December last year, will be the first LNG-fueled cruise ship in the U.S. paving the way for the next generation of low carbon passenger vessels.

The 5,200-passenger ship was constructed by Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku. The newbuild bears the same name as Carnival Cruise Line’s first ship launched in 1972. It feature a length of 337 meters and a width of 42 meters.

The vessel was delivered to Carnival Cruise Line in December last year. In late July this year, the ship departed for its maiden voyage.

Last month, Carnival Cruise Line released its annual sustainability report where it established goals for 2030 and aspirations for 2050, emphasizing the corporation’s commitment to decarbonization to further strengthen environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

As part of its strategic plan for carbon footprint reduction, the company opted for the use LNG to power cruise ships with a total of 11 next-generation cruise ships that will have joined the fleet through 2025, which will represent nearly 20% of its total capacity, including four ships already in operation.