Content Section

Carnival Corporation & plc Reaches Agreement with Cousteau Society to Fund Restoration of Legendary Ocean Research Vessel Calypso

MIAMI and PARIS, Nov. 18, 2004 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cousteau Society and CarnivalCorporation plc (NYSE: CCL; LSE) (NYSE: CUK) have reached an agreement inprinciple to restore the Calypso, the legendary research and expedition vesselof Captain Jacques Yves Cousteau. Once restored, Calypso will become anexhibit and a center for science and the environment.

The Cousteau Society has been diligently working toward a successfulsolution for this historic vessel. The last eight months have been used toput together a plan to restore the former American minesweeper asauthentically as possible. "I'm so pleased at this outcome, as I know CaptainCousteau would have been," said Francine Cousteau, widow of Jacques Cousteauand president of the Cousteau Society.

Calypso will be restored at a shipyard in Grand Bahama, The Bahamas, at anestimated cost of $1.3 million, with work expected to be completed by the endof 2005. The vessel's new location, following refurbishment, is to beannounced at a later date.

The Calypso will maintain its French flag and will remain a historicsymbol of the extraordinary work of Captain Cousteau and the Cousteau Society,which carries on his work in science and education for public awareness, aswell as for international university research.

According to Giora Israel, vice president of strategic planning forCarnival Corporation, restoring the Calypso is a unique opportunity topreserve a part of history and maintain a world-famous icon for marineresearch and environmental preservation. "The company views its funding ofthe Calypso's restoration as a tribute to the Cousteau organization whosecontributions to marine science and education are immeasurable," said Israel."As the world's largest cruise operator, Carnival Corporation's success relieson the health of the world's oceans and the restoration of the Calypso willserve to expose new generations to the Calypso story and allow this famousship to continue to educate the public on the importance of protecting ourprecious natural resources," he added.

Mr. Loel Guiness, who owns the Calypso and created, along with FrancineCousteau, Arionis, a non-profit organization to save the vessel, expressedgreat satisfaction at this outcome, which corresponds to his wishes to seeCalypso remain an icon for science and education.

Calypso was involved in a mooring accident and sank in the harbor ofSingapore in 1996. Captain Cousteau decided then that the vessel must besaved and arranged to have her transported back to France, writing to TheCousteau Society, "I want Calypso to remain at the service of science andeducation." He began a campaign to find a permanent shelter for the vesseland ultimately the city of La Rochelle, France, offered a program to secureCalypso's future. Unfortunately, the La Rochelle plans were never realizedand the Calypso has remained there in a caretaker status, in an increasinglydebilitated condition.

The announcement of the Calypso's rescue caps an extremely successful yearfor The Cousteau Society. The organization's achievements include completionof an expedition to the Red Sea fifty years following Captain Cousteau'shistoric first exploration of the region that resulted in the award-winningfilms "Silent World" and "World Without Sun"; a world-wide exhibitionincluding a feature film shown in Paris, Zurich, Geneva, New York, Tokyo,Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Valencia, Genoa and on permanent exhibit at the Museumof Oceanography in Monaco (the expedition and film were underwritten by IWC,the prestigious watch company based in Schaffausen, Switzerland); theestablishment of the first Cousteau Chairs in North America at Rhode IslandUniversity and Rutgers University, New Jersey (The Cousteau Chairs, funded byUNESCO, operate on five continents and train students to manage sustainabledevelopment and long term risks); the appointment of Jean Jaubert, ChiefScientist and Chief of Expeditions, as Director of the Museum of Oceanographyin Monaco; the expansion of Cousteau Kids, a magazine in association withWeekly Reader, one of the largest educational publishers in the world. Also,the Cousteau Society has signed a partnership agreement with the FoundationAlbert I in cooperation with the Museum of Oceanography in Monaco and theInstitute in Paris in order to develop new programs for the public as well asfor the Universities.

The refurbishing of the vessel also creates an opportunity for theCousteau Society to produce a book and a new movie about the incredibleadventure of the most regarded exploration vessel of her time -- The Calypso.

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in theworld, with a portfolio of 12 cruise brands in North America, Europe andAustralia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, PrincessCruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, AIDA, Costa Cruises, CunardLine, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, Swan Hellenic, and P&O Cruises Australia.

Together, these brands operate 76 ships totaling more than 129,000 lowerberths with 13 new ships scheduled for delivery between December 2004 andApril 2009. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates the leading tourcompanies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, Holland America Tours and PrincessTours. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, CarnivalCorporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both theS&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

SOURCE: Carnival Corporation

CONTACT: Tim Gallagher or Jennifer de la Cruz, both of CarnivalCorporation & plc, +1-305-599-2600, ext. 16000, or media@carnival.com; orNicolas Gantier of The Cousteau Society in France, +011-33-1-44-34-06-06, orngantier@cousteau.org

Web site: #

Kaleidoscope powered