Carnival deploys fourth ship to China

[LOS ANGELES] Carnival Corp will dispatch a fourth ship to China next April, escalating the battle for passengers in the fastest-growing cruise market.

The Miami-based cruise company, the world's largest, is transferring the 3,780-passenger Costa Serena to Shanghai from Europe to join three other company ships that travel to ports in Japan and South Korea, Alan Buckelew, Carnival's chief operating officer, said.

"We're growing by leaps and bounds," Mr Buckelew pointed out. "It's a market that can support that kind of growth."