By
Rebecca Lambert |
Carnival Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with cruise ship building company Fincantieri to explore the possibility of a shipbuilding joint venture to accelerate the development and growth of the cruise industry in China.
The MOU between Carnival and Italy-based Fincantieri outlines the framework for evaluating and exploring a potential shipbuilding joint venture for constructing cruise ships for the Chinese market.
This latest agreement with Fincantieri follows the news that Carnival and the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) had signed an MOU in mid-October to work together on a potential collaborative joint venture focused in shipbuilding in China.
Both MOUs include the possibility of forming a shipbuilding joint venture that could become a three-way arrangement involving Carnival Corporation, Fincantieri and CSSC. In concept, the potential shipbuilding joint venture would be the first three-nation collaborative effort to build the first-ever, world-class cruise ships constructed in China.
“Building on our groundbreaking MOU signed with CSSC last month, this new agreement with Fincantieri gives us the opportunity to work with our longtime partner to further explore a formal joint venture that could forever change the landscape of shipbuilding in China,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “After working diligently to get a deep understanding of China’s aggressive cruise ambitions, we’re collaborating with two of the world’s top shipbuilders in Fincantieri and CSSC to establish a framework for a world-class Chinese shipbuilding venture designed to help accelerate growth and demand for cruising in China in the years to come.”
As part of the possible joint venture, Carnival would work with CSSC and Fincantieri to provide its ship design and shipbuilding expertise to create the vision, definition and overall specifications for the China-built cruise ship for the Chinese market. In addition, Fincantieri and CSSC would work together in the proposed venture on shipbuilding production capacity in China.
“This agreement with Carnival, to which we are bound by a consolidated partnership, and with CSSC testifies our determination in pursuing a strategy that increasingly establishes Fincantieri as a global and reference player in the sector, with strong presence in all the markets that can ensure a future in our business,” said Fincantieri’s chief executive officer, Giuseppe Bono. “Indeed, new international scenarios are emerging, and with them new challenges arise in addition to existing ones, and we are glad to contribute together with Carnival to develop the cruise shipbuilding capacity in China for the Chinese market. For this reason, our commitment must be ever-stronger in order to enable us to take advantage of such opportunities and continue to be an example of Italian style in the world.”