Carnival Corporation intends to further accelerate the removal of 13 ships from its fleet this year, according to its latest business investor update.
Ships that were previously due to leave the fleet in coming years, will now leave the fleet in the next 90 days. Carnival was due to remove six cruise ships from its global fleet, however this number will now be 13, reducing Carnival’s overall fleet capacity by 9%.
The company disposed of Costa Victoria in June and recently retired P&O Cruises Oceana this week. It said it already has agreements for the disposal of four more ships, and preliminary agreements to sell an additional three ships, all of which are expected to leave the fleet in the next 90 days.
These disposals are in addition to the four ships already scheduled to leave the fleet, which include Pacific Aria, Pacific Dawn, Costa Atlantica and Costa Mediterranea. Before the pandemic, plans were already in place to dispose of these ships, handing two over to Cruise & Maritime Voyages and two to a new start-up cruise line by China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
Although these ships are being disposed of from the Carnival fleet, it does not mean that the ships themselves will be disposed of entirely. Several will indeed head to the scrapyard, while others may continue to sail under a new owner. Carnival Corporation remains tightlipped over the identities of the remaining ships planned for retirement. However, the remaining ships are rumoured to belong to Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America.
The largest cruise corporation also announced only five of their nine planned newbuilds would be delivered by the end of 2021, as construction delays put delivery timelines into disarray.