The Carnival Corporation has provided a business update which includes the disposal of 13 cruise ships and new ship delays.
Carnival is Offloading 13 of Its Cruise Ships
The Carnival Corporation has provided a new update on its business operations and the impact the suspension of cruise operations is having across its nine cruise brands. We get an update on the financial side of things, new ship deliveries, an outlook on how bookings are going, and even news about the cruise ships which are being let go to either be scrapped or sold.
Carnival Corporation & plc President and Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald noted:
“We have been transitioning the fleet into a prolonged pause and right sizing our shoreside operations. We have already reduced operating costs by over $7 billion on an annualized basis and reduced capital expenditures also by more than $5 billion over the next 18 months.”
“We have secured over $10 billion of additional liquidity to sustain another full year with additional flexibility remaining. We have aggressively shed assets while actively deferring new ship deliveries. We are working hard to resume operations while serving the best interests of public health with our way forward informed through consultation with medical experts and scientists from around the world.”
One of the main highlights of the Carnival update was on the cruise ships which are being disposed of. We already know that nine vessels are leaving and on Cruise Hive we have already confirmed two of those. However, Carnival is offloading a total of 13 which represents nearly nine percent reduction in the current capacity.
Related: Here Are Five Carnival Cruise Ships That Might Be Sold Soon
The company has mentioned that one ship has already been sold in June 2020 and has agreements for the disposal of five ships along with preliminary agreements to sell three ships in the next 90 days. All eyes will be on the older vessels across all nine brands as we don’t yet know which ships are going. We do know that P&O’s Oceana has already been sold as posted here.
There are also an additional four ships being sold which were announced prior to fiscal 2020. With so many vessels being offloaded the company will be able to help support its brands during the suspension of operations and ride out these difficult times.
The company currently expects only five of the nine ships originally scheduled for delivery in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021 will be delivered prior to the end of fiscal year 2021. In addition, the company expects later deliveries of ships originally scheduled for fiscal 2022 and 2023. Carnival Cruise Line has already announced that Mardi Gras which is currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland is now delayed until February 2021.
Also Read: Will the Cruise Industry Be Back to Normal in 2021?
There is some good news with German-based Aida Cruises set to resume sailings from August and demand for 2021 bookings remains good. Cruise Lines are now very much focused on introducing new health measures to their ships and working with health authorities so that cruises can restart.
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