Carnival Imagination looks like it will be the next cruise ship to be sent to the scrapyard, as the Cruise Ship Tracker shows the ship’s next destination as Aliaga, Turkey.
Entering service in 1995, Carnival Imagination is currently docked in Willemstad, after having arrived from the Bahamas. The ship is due to arrive in Turkey on 10 September.
Carnival Corporation has not confirmed the ship is heading for the scrapyard, however Carnival had already announced Carnival Imagination and Carnival Fascination would be placed into long-term cold lay-up in July, with no confirmation when or if they would return to service. A week later, it confirmed the company had decided to sell off two more unnamed ships, concluding that their carrying values are no longer recoverable when compared to their estimated remaining future cash flows.
Carnival Fascination arrived in Cadiz, Spain for lay-up in July, where she still remains. However, Carnival Imagination will likely be joining her sisters – Carnival Fantasy which arrived at the scrapyard at the end of July and Carnival Inspiration which was beached in Aliaga at the start of August. Work on cutting up Carnival Fantasy has already begun, with her bow quickly disappearing. Like the other two ships, Carnival Imagination is docked in Curacao to unload valuables and heavy equipment, before heading over to Europe for the final scrapping process to begin.
It is important to know that Carnival Cruise Line has not confirmed the ship will be scrapped but it appears to be just be a matter of time until an official announcement is made. Previously, Carnival only confirmed Carnival Fantasy had been sold for scrap once she was almost at the ship breaking yard in Aliaga.