The Minister for Business and Tourism, Vijay Daryanani, has today welcomed MS IONA to the port of Gibraltar.

MS IONA is the new flagship of P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation PLC. It is one of the largest cruise ships, with a capacity of 5200 passengers and 1800 crew, to operate for them and it is also one of their first LNG powered vessels. On this occasion it is carrying 2484 passengers and 1657 crew on board.

Minister Daryanani, who engaged in the traditional exchange of gifts, said “I am delighted to welcome MS Iona to Gibraltar. Carnival Corporation and P&O are one of the more important cruise companies in the world and we welcome them with open arms. IONA is the floating city example of the direction cruise ships are moving in. It is also great to see this new cruise ship visit our Port as it is LNG powered. The introduction of LNG is a major development that supports our environmental goals and decarbonisation pathway. We enjoy a very good working relationship with them and in November I met with Mr David Dingle CBE, the Chairman of Carnival UK to discuss how we can increase calls to Gibraltar. I will continue working with their itinerary planners to make sure that Gibraltar is included in future cruises”.