Michael Ungerer News

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri on Wednesday announced it has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Explora Journeys, the luxury travel brand of the MSC Group's cruise division, for the construction of two hydrogen-powered luxury cruise ships.EXPLORA V and EXPLORA VI will feature a new generation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines that will tackle the issue of methane slip and will also be equipped with industry first environmental technologies and solutions, including a containment system for liquid hydrogen that will enable them to use this promising low-carbon fuel.

Carnival Corporation & plc today announced that Roger Chen has been appointed chairman in China, effective January 1, 2016. A native of China, Chen will be based in Shanghai and lead all government relations and port development, while also supporting the company’s joint ventures in China. In this new role, Chen will have responsibility for representing all of Carnival Corporation’s brands in China to continue growing the company’s presence and scale in the region. Chen will report directly to Alan Buckelew…

The Chinese cruise market, expected to become the world’s largest based on surging demand for cruise vacations by Chinese travelers, will see the arrival of two additional cruise brands in 2017 as Carnival Corporation & plc further expand its operations in the nation. Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises will join Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises in the Chinese market, making Carnival Corporation the first company to operate four brands in China, the company said today in announcing its plans for further development in China.

Carnival Corporation & plc announced that Michael Ungerer, currently President of Germany-based AIDA Cruises, has been appointed Chief Operations Officer-Shared Services for Carnival Asia, effective September 1, 2015. Ungerer will relocate to Shanghai, China, and directly support each of the Carnival Corporation brands operating in the region to leverage the company's industry-leading presence and scale in the region. Ungerer will jointly report to Michael Thamm, CEO of the Costa Group, which includes AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises, and to a China steering committee comprising the Carnival Corporation brands operating in the region. In addition, longtime AIDA senior executive Felix Eichhorn has been named president of AIDA Cruises. He will also report to Thamm.

With the birthday of the cruise ship AIDAcara on June 7, 2015, AIDA Cruises is heralding the 20th year of its company history. On Sunday evening, more than 20,000 guests will toast together aboard the 10 AIDA ships, opening the anniversary celebrations. “AIDA – an inspiring smile. The original turns 20” is the slogan of the anniversary campaign, which will provide inspiration until the end of 2016 with exciting insights into the history of the modern cruise along with a variety of promotions and events. “With the commissioning of AIDAcara, we triggered a revolution in the cruise market, and for the first time we also generated a great deal of enthusiasm for this type of vacation among young and lifestyle-oriented people.

The ocean cruise market in Germany continues to be one of the fastest-growing tourism sectors. Going by current trends, Germany could rival the UK’s position as the second largest ocean cruise market. Clia Germany revealed at ITB Berlin that 1.77 million German passengers took an ocean cruise in 2014 – a notable rise compared with the 1.7 million that cruised from the UK in 2013. Clia UK and Ireland said the UK’s 2014 figures would be announced next week, at the Cruise Shipping Miami exhibition and conference. According to a Bloomberg report, Germany is becoming Europe’s top contributor of passengers to the cruise industry as record employment levels and generous vacation rules give consumers the cash and leisure time for sightseeing by sea.

The world’s first LNG hybrid barge of Becker Marine Systems was christened with the name "Hummel" on October 18, 2014, at Grasbrook Quay in HafenCity Hamburg. The godmother of the inaugural event for the floating LNG power plant for environmentally friendly energy supply of cruise ships was Dr. Monika Griefahn, Chief Sustainability Officer at AIDA Cruises. The co-founder of Greenpeace Germany and former Minister of Environment of Lower Saxony has been involved in sustainability and environmental protection for more than 30 years. "With this pilot project, Becker Marine Systems and AIDA Cruises are together setting an example for environmental and climate protection, not only for the city of Hamburg but also for the entire maritime industry," said AIDA President Michael Ungerer.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) began construction today at its Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works on the first of two new generation cruise ships for AIDA Cruises, the German cruise company part of Costa Group, Europe's largest cruise company member of Carnival Corporation & plc. MHI said the two new ships, which will incorporate an array of the world's leading-edge environmental technologies, are scheduled for delivery in the spring of March 2015 and 2016 respectively.

ADAC performed independent safety tests on board 10 cruise ships in the Mediterranean. ADAC certified all the other ships that were tested, in addition to the AIDA owned ships, including those of the Costa fleet, maintained a high standard of safety, which ADAC says, confirms once more the high safety standard in the cruise industry. "We are pleased that all AIDA ships tested from the ADAC, got the top rating 'very good'. The test results of the ADAC experts once again confirm the high safety standards on board our ships, "says Michael Ungerer, President of AIDA Cruises.

Meyer Werft in Papenburg started the construction of the fourth club ship for the German cruise operator. Michael Ungerer, Member of the Board of AIDA Cruises (Rostock), pushed the button of the computer-controlled plasma torch to start the production of the first steel plate for the new ship. The newbuilding will be completed in 2010. The 71,000-gt ship has a length overall of 252 m, a breadth of 32.2 m and 1087 cabins onboard. The AIDAdiva, which is the first ship of this series, was delivered to the Owner in April 2007 and will be followed this spring by the AIDAbella. Next to the newbuilding whose construction has started today, also the AIDAluna is currently under construction at MEYER WERFT.

Starting from December 2006 the Italian Costa Crociere SpA, which operates the brands AIDA Cruises and Costa Crociere, will be offering cruises with departures from Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The official announcement was made during a series of official meetings, set to take place in Dubai on February 1 and 2, 2006, between a delegation from Costa Crociere – headed by Costa Crociere SpA Chairman & CEO Pier Luigi Foschi, Costa Crociere President Gianni Onorato, and AIDA Cruises SVP Operations Michael Ungerer – and political and administrative leaders from the United Arab Emirates, Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Deputy Chairman of DP World, and Khalid bin Sulayem, Director General of the DTCM (Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing).