Carnival orders air lubrication technology

The vessels, the first of which will be Carnival Destiny, are scheduled for delivery in 2029, 2031 and 2033. At 230,000 gross tonnes each, they will become the largest ships in Carnival Corporation’s global fleet and the biggest vessels ever built by Fincantieri.

“Building on our longstanding relationship of more than a decade, we are proud to, once again, support Carnival on their sustainability journey by installing the Silverstream System on board the new Ace Class vessels,” said Noah Silberschmidt, founder and chief executive of Silverstream Technologies.

The LNG-powered ships will feature more than 3,000 guest staterooms and will accommodate almost 8,000 passengers at full capacity. Carnival said the technology will help improve fuel efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and lower associated emissions as the company advances its decarbonisation goals.

The order extends a relationship between the two companies that has accumulated more than 127,000 system running hours across Carnival Corporation’s cruise fleet. Silverstream’s technology is installed or ordered on 18 vessels across several Carnival brands, including 13 ships already in service and five in build or on order.

The latest agreement follows Carnival’s January 2025 announcement that its fourth and fifth Excel Class newbuilds would also be equipped with Silverstream’s air lubrication technology. Those ships will be built at Meyer Werft in Germany and will accommodate more than 5,000 passengers each.

Bo-Erik Blomqvist, senior vice president for corporate shipbuilding at Carnival Corporation, said the companies’ collaboration was focused on improving energy efficiency across the fleet.

Silverstream currently has more than 250 orders and over 150 installations globally.