Strengthened Partnership to See Wärtsilä Help Carnival Boost Vessel Efficiency

Wärtsilä today announced that it has signed a 12-year partnership agreement with Carnival.

Wärtsilä Corporation (Wärtsilä) today announced that it has signed a 12-year agreement with Carnival Corporation & plc (Carnival), which will see Wärtsilä assist the cruise giant in boosting vessel efficiency - a key driver for the cooperation between the two companies.

Noting that the agreement covers some 400 Wärtsilä engines, the company says that "even the smallest improvements in vessel fuel consumption add up to significant annual savings in fleet operational costs."

Under the agreement, Wärtsilä says it will measure engine efficiency and fuel consumption on a regular basis, with potential savings in bunker costs expected to amount to tens of millions of dollars per year.

"Our agreement with Wärtsilä extends our cooperation to a strategic partnership," said Bill Burke, Chief Maritime Officer for Carnival.

"In addition to reducing our costs, the long-term agreement increases safety and operational efficiency – two critical advantages in the fast-growing cruise market."

Under the agreement, Wärtsilä will handle all engine maintenance and monitoring work for Carnival's 79 vessels.

The performance-based agreement is said to be valued at approximately €900 million ($967.36 million), with expected revenues for 24 months expected to total about €150 million ($161.23 million), and included in Wärtsilä’s order book for the first quarter of 2017.

"We are very excited to develop our long-term partnership into a more strategic direction. Both Wärtsilä and Carnival Corporation are committed to investing significantly in this partnership as well as to develop our cooperation in the long run. We are confident that working closely together, we can improve performance in both organisations," said Pierpaolo Barbone, President, Services & Executive Vice President, Wärtsilä Corporation.

Earlier this month, Ship & Bunker reported that Carnival is forecasting the average price it pays for bunkers to rise by 32 percent year on year in 2017.