MIAMI, July 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest leisure travel company, today announced the official
opening of the Arison Maritime Center, its world-class facility
dedicated to providing rigorous safety training for its bridge and
engineering officers responsible for the navigation and operation
of the world's largest fleet of cruise ships.
The new 75-million-euro facility
in Almere, Netherlands, just
outside Amsterdam, was celebrated
with a ceremony honoring longtime board chairman Micky Arison and his father Ted, founder of the
company, that was attended by the company's global leaders, board
members and government, community and business officials.
The centerpiece of the seven-acre campus is a new and more than
two-times-larger Center for Simulator Maritime Training Academy
(CSMART), Carnival Corporation's world-renown maritime training,
professional development and research facility that began
operations in Almere in 2009. The center will feature bridge and
engine room simulators that utilize the most innovative technology
and training solutions in the maritime industry, modeled closely
after the technology and practices used in the airline and other
industries.
"The opening of the new Arison Maritime Center and expansion of
our CSMART Academy is a major milestone in our company's history
and an exciting day for all of us at Carnival Corporation," said
David Christie, senior vice
president of maritime quality assurance for Carnival Corporation.
"The safety and comfort of our guests and crew is our most
important priority, and the Arison Maritime Center underscores the
depth of our commitment to making sure our ships sail as safely as
possible. Our bridge and engineering officers are the heart and
soul of our ship operations, and this center takes to a new level
our dedication to providing our officers with the maritime
industry's most comprehensive and progressive safety training."
Added Christie: "With 10 cruise line brands sailing 11 million
guests a year to over 700 ports around the world, we take
tremendous pride in having a team of highly trained, skilled and
prepared officers operating the bridges and engine rooms on our
ships. With the new Arison Maritime Center and CSMART Academy
officially up and running, our tradition of excellence and
continuous improvement in safety training is stronger than
ever."
At 110,000 square feet, the environmentally friendly facility is
more than double the size of the company's current facility,
allowing Carnival Corporation to provide annual training to over
6,500 officers and engineers across the company's 10 cruise line
brands. It will also include an advanced medical center and an
11-story, 176-room hotel for Carnival
Corporation trainees.
World-Class Training at CSMART Academy
The CSMART
Academy will feature four full-mission bridge simulators and four
full-mission engine room simulators designed to provide a wide
array of programming and simulated exercises that can recreate an
extensive range of maritime scenarios. The new five-story facility
will also include 24 part-task engine simulators, eight debriefing
rooms and eight part-task bridge simulators -- all designed to
provide participants access to the visual elements of 60 ports
around the world including Los
Angeles, New York,
Miami, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Singapore and Glacier Bay, Alaska.
The state-of-the-art technology provides high-quality maritime
training services that reflect real-world scenarios and sea
conditions including ship traffic, aircraft interference, weather
events and wildlife circumvention. Modeled after the newly designed
bridge of the Koningsdam from the company's Holland America Line,
CSMART Academy's full-mission bridge simulators provide an
authentic shipboard experience for participants to build skills in
navigating complex control and automation systems.
Like the bridge simulators, the full-mission engine room
simulators are based on actual ship layouts and systems,
scaled to size and representing a diesel electric engine room
comprising six diesel generators and two propulsion motors, along
with ancillary and auxiliary equipment. The simulators allow
trainees to navigate their way around the actual engine room of a
ship to operate and repair equipment, with the genuine sights,
sounds and even temperatures found in a cruise ship's engine
room.
The new facility and team of highly experienced CSMART Academy
instructors have developed a curriculum that sets the industry
standard for safety and maritime training and keeps pace with
advances in ship technology, fostering critical thinking, problem
solving, decision-making and confidence.
The CSMART Academy has played a leading role in
developing and refining a function- and team-based bridge and
engine room management system on a large scale. This approach is
based on roles rather than ranks, with officers operating as a
coordinated team, with each officer assigned a role for specific
functions. It also includes encouraging team members of all ranks
and seniority to speak up to challenge or question a decision.
In keeping with the faculty team's leadership, the Arison
Maritime Center will provide the additional space needed to
implement the industry's first Proficiency Training and Assessment
(PTA) program. The week-long course is based on a specially
developed curriculum that annually refreshes and then evaluates
each of the corporation's maritime officers.
With its scale, technology and equipment, and innovative
training approach, the new facility will be the most progressive
maritime center of its kind in the world for training and
continually improving industry-wide safety and excellence.
Honoring Ongoing Legacy of the Arison Family
Following
a speech by Carnival Corporation's CEO Arnold Donald at today's ceremony, the center
was dedicated to honor the legacy of the Arisons, the first family
of cruising. Micky Arison has been chairman of the board of
directors for Carnival Corporation & plc since 1990.
He began his career at Carnival Cruise Line in 1972 and
was appointed chairman of Carnival Corporation in 1990, a
title he still holds today. Considered one of the most respected
leaders and experts in the cruise industry, Arison's vision and
leadership played the central role in building Carnival
Corporation into the world's largest cruise company and
helping grow cruising from a niche holiday to one of the most
popular vacation experiences available.
His late father, Ted Arison, founded the company in 1972
with one ship with the firm belief that cruising is one of the best
ways to enjoy a vacation and a commitment to making cruising
available to people from all walks of life. Referred to by
The New York Times as "the godfather of the modern cruise
industry," he is credited with building cruise operations that give
travelers the opportunity to enjoy a cruise vacation with prices
that range from affordable to upscale. Today, the company has 101
ships, over 120,000 employees and welcomes 11 million guests
annually. About one of every two travelers who go on a cruise
vacation do so on a Carnival Corporation ship.
Investing in Training through an Investment in the Netherlands
The official grand
opening of the center was commemorated today with a ceremony, tours
and a celebration at the facility attended by Carnival
Corporation's global leadership team and board members as well as
government officials, including Maarten
Camps, secretary general of the ministry of economic affairs
for the Netherlands, and Franc
Weerwind, Mayor of Almere.
Carnival Corporation worked with Dutch property
group AMVEST Vastgoed B.V. to purchase the seven-acre
plot of land in Almere Poort called the DUIN, a planned
business and residential community in Almere, one
of Europe's newest and fastest growing cities. The
center's campus and buildings were designed by Dutch
architect Paul de Ruiter, and the Dutch construction company
Dura Vermeer built the CSMART Academy and hotel. The design
and construction were built to meet rigorous environmental and
sustainability standards that will achieve "LEED Gold"
certification, and the campus will fit esthetically into the Duin
environment, per AMVEST'S original plan for the development.
Carnival Corporation and the Arison Maritime Center, including
the CSMART Academy, produce a significant economic impact in Almere
and the greater Amsterdam region.
It is estimated that Carnival Corporation and the Arison Maritime
Center will generate an annual estimated economic impact of up to
17.5 million euros for the local
community and region.
Additional information on the new Arison Maritime Center can be
found at http://csmartalmere.com/NewCsmart.aspx, including details
on the CSMART simulators and training facilities.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the largest leisure travel
company in the world, with a portfolio of 10 cruise brands
in North
America, Europe, Australia and Asia comprised
of Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America
Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA
Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O
Cruises (Australia)
and P&O Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 101 ships visiting over 700 ports
around the world and totaling 225,000 lower berths, with 15 new
ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and
2020. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates
Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies
in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both
the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival
Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be
included in both the S&P500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.fathom.org, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com,
www.seabourn.com,www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, and www.pocruises.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc