Cruiseship giant Carnival has signed an agreement with energy major Shell to supply LNG as bunkers to its two new LNG-fuelled ships in North America.
The two 180,000-gt cruiseships, which are due for delivery in 2020 and 2022, will be supplied by a new LNG bunker barge (LBB) unveiled by Shell on Tuesday.
The 5,200-passenger vessels will be fully powered by regasified LNG both while in port and at sea.
The LBB, which Shell said is part of its strategic plan to develop a global LNG bunkering network, will allow these ships to refuel with LNG at ports along the southern US east coast.
CCL president Christine Duffy said the ships “will not only be the largest and most technologically advanced in our fleet but will break extraordinary new ground as the first LNG-powered cruise ships in North America".
She added: “Carnival Cruise Line is strongly committed to leading the way in the implementation of technology innovations to help protect the environment and support our aggressive sustainability goals.”
LNG emits zero sulfur dioxides, and compared to marine diesel oil, results in a 95-100% reduction in particulate matter, said CCL spokesman Roger Frizzell. It also allows for an 85% reduction in nitrogen oxides, and lowers carbon emissions by 25-28%, he said.
"We recognise that our long-term success is tied to protecting the environment," he said. "As a result, sustainability is one of our core values. It is a journey that never ends."
At the same time, Carnival has no plans at the moment to change over its entire fleet of 25 vessels to run on LNG but will seek new opportunities to use LNG and other environmentally friendly fuels on its ships, Frizzell said.
"We'll assess as we go forward," he said.
Of the 103 ships owned by Carnival, which owns Carnival Cruise Lines, 70 have exhaust-gas scrubbers to lower emissions while the rest use low-sulphur fuel in areas that require its use, he said.
Shell NA LNG president Tahir Faruqui said the agreement with Carnival "marks a milestone as we continue to establish the marine LNG fuel market in the U.S. as a credible part of the global marine fuel mix".
Carnival and Shell have history on LNG fueling.
The cruise giant, which is building seven LNG-fuelled cruiseships for delivery dates between 2018-2022, has already signed up Shell to supply LNG to its 124,500-gt AIDAprima (built 2016), along with two more vessels from its European AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises brands.
These two ships will be the world’s first fully LNG-powered cruise ships when they enter service in 2018 and 2019.
