Six Carnival Cruise Ships To Be Demolished

Experts are speculating that the Costa Victoria cruise ship will be demolished after Carnival initially announced that it would be removing vessels from its fleet, without giving details as to which ships the company was expecting to retire.

According to CNN.com Francesco Ferrari, mayor of the Italian town of Piombino, announced on his Facebook page the Costa Victoria is currently being prepared for demolition.

The revelation took some by surprise as the Victoria is not among the oldest ships currently in service. According to the CNN report, the Victoria is 23 years old, while other reports indicate that ships as old as 30 years and older continue in operation.

If true, Carnival’s disposal of the Victoria would be just one of Carnival’s many planned decommissionings. CNN reports that a recent press release from the company indicates that it plans to retire six ships from its fleet in the coming months.

“The company already has preliminary agreements for the disposal of six ships which are expected to leave the fleet in the next 90 days and is currently working toward additional agreements,” Carnival said in the statement. 

Carnival’s precarious financial situation is the obvious culprit behind the decommissionings. Carnival’s statement stated as much, saying “The longer the pause in guest operations continues the greater the impact on the company’s liquidity and financial position.”