CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping takes Costa Atlantica cruise ship

CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping just received the delivery of the cruise ship Atlantica coming from Carnival Cruise subsidiary Costa Cruise. CSSC Carnival Cruise was established in 2018 as a joint venture between Carnival and China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). As part of what is being agreed upon is that the joint venture will receive two Costa cruise ships, Costa Mediterranea, and Costa Atlantica wherein all will be transferred at a later date. To give a comparison of the ships’ capacity, Costa Atlantica can accommodate 2,210 passengers while Costa Mediterranea has a capacity of 2,114 passengers.

Also, part of the new venture is to receive two new vessels and also given an option to order four more cruise ships that will be constructed in mainland China. The two additional cruise ships are expected to be built by the Shanghai-based Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co (SWS). By 2023, the first ship should be delivered already.

In the year 2014, to form a joint venture, the company was able to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Roger Chen, the CSSC-Carnival Managing Director relay that the company will leverage the strong capabilities and even rich resources of the parent companies to build a full-fledged flagship cruise line company. Yang Guobing, the CSSC Carnival Chairman also said that the venture should help drive in sustaining the development of China’s cruise industry and to become the leading China-funded cruise company. This can be achieved through optimizing its product offerings, setting up an all-inclusive ecosystem, as well as improving its distribution systems.

Besides, Carnival also announced the company’s plan in launching an additional four new cruise ships this year. The four additional new vessels are specified as Iona for P&O Cruises in the UK, Mardi Gras for Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Firenze for Costa Cruises, and lastly, Enchanted Princess for Princess Cruises.

Last year in November, China was able to finalized and completed the merger between the CSSC China Shipbuilding Industry Company or CSIC. This is to initiate a way to create a new shipbuilding company. Besides, the new expected entity will still retain the branding and name of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd. To date, Carnival still plans to add at least 16 new cruise ships to its fleet by 2025. But for now, it’s ready to launch its four-new cruise ships this year as part of its expansion and goal to add more fleet.