Carnival Cruise Line’s new Mardi Gras made its first port call this morning in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, where the ship will refuel with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for the first time after delivery.
The Mardi Gras, set to begin sailing from Port Canaveral, Fla., next year, will be the first cruise ship in the Americas to be powered by LNG, making history.
Carnival said the Mardi Gras is equipped with four medium speed LNG engines that will be run in port and at sea. The ship can operate for two weeks between refuelings, which will happen in Port Canaveral.
The Mardi Gras, which was delivered to Carnival last week at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, is scheduled to depart Rotterdam tomorrow and then sail to Barcelona, Spain, before making its eventual arrival in the U.S. The ship’s inaugural voyage from Port Canaveral is scheduled for April 24, 2021.
