Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Partners with Miami-Dade County on “Shore-Power Ready” Efforts
Positions PortMiami as a Leader in Sustainability and Creates a More Resilient Cruise Industry
MIAMI, Aug. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) (together with NCL Corporation Ltd., “Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings”, “Norwegian” or the “Company”) today announced it has partnered with Miami-Dade County to make its new state-of-the-art Cruise Terminal B, the Pearl of Miami, and certain homeported vessels "Shore-Power Ready" by fall 2023.
The new facility, the Pearl of Miami, can accommodate cruise vessels carrying up to 5,000 cruise passengers. The terminal was designed with sustainability at the forefront and was constructed to LEED Gold standards for optimizing energy, water efficiency, air quality, and utilization of local materials and resources. In addition, approximately 90% of all subcontractors, vendors and suppliers were local to the region, reducing the carbon footprint of the project and encouraging local economic growth. The new terminal will be fitted to service Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ shore-power capable vessels.
Today’s announcement follows the Company’s recent launch of its redesigned global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain. As part of this program, the Company also recently unveiled its long-term climate action strategy and goal to reach carbon neutrality through reducing carbon intensity, identifying and investing in technology including exploring alternative fuels and implementing a voluntary carbon offset program. As part of its commitment to a more sustainable world, the Company is purchasing high quality, verified carbon credits to offset three million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) and help bridge the gap in its decarbonization efforts until new technology becomes available.
“I am so proud that Norwegian is reiterating its commitment to our efforts to make PortMiami Shore-Power Ready by 2023,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “The incredible work of the PortMiami team and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will ensure that PortMiami is a leader in shaping a more sustainable cruise industry. We look forward to working with all partners to reduce emissions and make the Cruise Capital of the World more resilient, as part of our county's aggressive efforts to cut our carbon footprint and mitigate the impacts of climate change.”
“Climate action is one of the key focus areas of our global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain, and partnering with Miami-Dade County to bring shore-power capabilities to our new state-of-the-art terminal at PortMiami aligns with our long-term climate action strategy,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “We are committed to driving a positive impact on society and the environment as demonstrated by not only this partnership to bring shore-power to the Cruise Capital of the World but also the design of our newly developed, award-winning cruise terminal at PortMiami which was constructed to LEED gold standards.”
In February, Mayor Levine Cava launched an initiative to bring shore-power to PortMiami, collaborating with Miami-Dade's major cruise line partners. Since then, the Environmental Protection Agency's Diesel Emissions Reduction Act announced a $2 million grant allocation for the first phase. Such phase will transform the power levels at PortMiami from the electrical grid to cable management systems for the heavy plugs and outlets on the vessels. This system requires all parties to implement improvements to the electrical grid and supply lines, equipment on the pier, and shore-to-ship connection on the vessel.
About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. With a combined fleet of 28 ships with approximately 60,000 berths, these brands offer itineraries to more than 490 destinations worldwide. The Company has nine additional ships scheduled for delivery through 2027, comprising approximately 24,000 berths.
About Sail & Sustain
Sail & Sustain is Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ global sustainability program centered around its commitment to drive a positive impact on society and the environment while delivering on its vision to be the vacation of choice for everyone around the world. This program is structured around five pillars developed through cross-functional collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders. The pillars include: Reducing Environmental Impact, Sailing Safely, Empowering People, Strengthening our Communities and Operating with Integrity and Accountability.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this release, including, without limitation, those regarding our business strategy, financial position, results of operations, plans, prospects, actions taken or strategies being considered with respect to our liquidity position, valuation and appraisals of our assets and objectives of management for future operations (including those regarding our expectations, plans or goals for our sustainability program and decarbonization efforts, expected fleet additions, our suspension of certain cruise voyages, our ability to weather the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, our expectations regarding the resumption of cruise voyages and the timing for such resumption of cruise voyages, the implementation of and effectiveness of our health and safety protocols, operational position, demand for voyages, financing opportunities and extensions, and future cost mitigation and cash conservation efforts and efforts to reduce operating expenses and capital expenditures) are forward-looking statements. Many, but not all, of these statements can be found by looking for words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “goal,” “strategy,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “will,” “may,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “intend,” “future” and similar words. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to the impact of: the spread of epidemics, pandemics and viral outbreaks and specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic, including its effect on the ability or desire of people to travel (including on cruises), which are expected to continue to adversely impact our results, operations, outlook, plans, goals, growth, reputation, cash flows, liquidity, demand for voyages and share price; our ability to comply with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (“CDC”) Framework for Conditional Sailing Order and any additional or future regulatory restrictions on our operations and to otherwise develop enhanced health and safety protocols to adapt to the pandemic’s unique challenges once operations resume and to otherwise safely resume our operations when conditions allow; legislation prohibiting companies from verifying vaccination status; coordination and cooperation with the CDC, the federal government and global public health authorities to take precautions to protect the health, safety and security of guests, crew and the communities visited and the implementation of any such precautions; our ability to work with lenders and others or otherwise pursue options to defer, renegotiate or refinance our existing debt profile, near-term debt amortization, newbuild related payments and other obligations and to work with credit card processors to satisfy current or potential future demands for collateral on cash advanced from customers relating to future cruises; our need for additional financing, which may not be available on favorable terms, or at all, and may be dilutive to existing shareholders; our indebtedness and restrictions in the agreements governing our indebtedness that require us to maintain minimum levels of liquidity and otherwise limit our flexibility in operating our business, including the significant portion of assets that are collateral under these agreements; the accuracy of any appraisals of our assets as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise; our success in reducing operating expenses and capital expenditures and the impact of any such reductions; our guests’ election to take cash refunds in lieu of future cruise credits or the continuation of any trends relating to such election; trends in, or changes to, future bookings and our ability to take future reservations and receive deposits related thereto; the unavailability of ports of call; future increases in the price of, or major changes or reduction in, commercial airline services; adverse events impacting the security of travel, such as terrorist acts, armed conflict and threats thereof, acts of piracy, and other international events; adverse incidents involving cruise ships; adverse general economic and related factors, such as fluctuating or increasing levels of unemployment, underemployment and the volatility of fuel prices, declines in the securities and real estate markets, and perceptions of these conditions that decrease the level of disposable income of consumers or consumer confidence; any further impairment of our trademarks, trade names or goodwill; breaches in data security or other disturbances to our information technology and other networks or our actual or perceived failure to comply with requirements regarding data privacy and protection; changes in fuel prices and the type of fuel we are permitted to use and/or other cruise operating costs; mechanical malfunctions and repairs, delays in our shipbuilding program, maintenance and refurbishments and the consolidation of qualified shipyard facilities; the risks and increased costs associated with operating internationally; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; overcapacity in key markets or globally; our expansion into and investments in new markets; our inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage; pending or threatened litigation, investigations and enforcement actions; volatility and disruptions in the global credit and financial markets, which may adversely affect our ability to borrow and could increase our counterparty credit risks, including those under our credit facilities, derivatives, contingent obligations, insurance contracts and new ship progress payment guarantees; our inability to recruit or retain qualified personnel or the loss of key personnel or employee relations issues; our reliance on third parties to provide hotel management services for certain ships and certain other services; our inability to keep pace with developments in technology; changes involving the tax and environmental regulatory regimes in which we operate; and other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and will continue to be amplified by, or in the future may be amplified by, the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. The above examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our present and future business strategies and the environment in which we expect to operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change of events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement was based, except as required by law.
Investor Relations & Media Contact
Andrea DeMarco
(305) 468-2339
InvestorRelations@nclcorp.com
Jessica John
(786) 913-2902
Source: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Released August 12, 2021