Carnival (NYSE: CCL)(NYSE: CUK) received the delivery of the newest and most innovative cruise ship, Mardi Gras, on Friday. Mardi Gras is a liquid natural gas (LNG) ship, the first of its kind in North America and part of the cruise line operator’s decarbonization program.
Scheduled to make its maiden voyage on April 24, 2021, Mardi Gras presents another premiere for a cruise ship: a roller coaster at sea.
Interpretation by the artist of the first roller coaster at sea, of the cruise industry, BOLT. Image source: Carnival.
Cruise to a greener future
LNG is a fast-growing option for a cruise industry that wants to move from heavy diesel and marine diesel to gas turbine engines.
Carnival was one of the first cruise ship operators to make the switch, using LNG in 2015 to supply AIDAsol’s AIDAsol while in port. Three years later, it launched AIDAnova, the first cruise ship anywhere that could be powered by sea or in port with LNG. It followed with Costa Smeralda in 2019.
Mardi Gras will be the first LNG-powered vessel to cross the waters around the southeastern coast of the United States. The carnival celebration will follow in 2022.
LNG vessels are not yet particularly common, as there have been few LNG supply ports available. Carnival collaborated Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A)(NYSE: RDS.B) to use the oil giant’s LNG hopper barge, which will allow cruise ships such as Mardi Gras to refuel while in port.
Carnival worked with Port Canaveral in Florida to build an Excel class port to manage Mardi Gras-sized ships. The new 180,000 gross tonnage ship can accommodate 5,200 guests and 2,000 crews. It has 2,600 cabins and 180 suites and will also have the world’s first roller coaster, the BOLT, which will operate at sea.