NCL Corporation has confirmed it will seek a public listing.

Privately held NCL Corp – the parent of Norwegian Cruise Line - filed paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to $250 million in stocks to the public.

In the filing the company said: “We believe improving leisure travel trends along with a relatively low supply outlook in the near term from the major North American cruise brands lead to an attractive business environment for our company to operate in.”

The filing came as NCL reported third-quarter profits of $93 million for the three months September 30th against $85.6 million for the same period last year.

New Ships

NCL recently reached an agreement with shipbuilder Meyer Werft of Germany to build two new next generation Freestyle Cruising ships for delivery in spring 2013 and spring 2014, respectively.

Following the successful launch of Norwegian Epic, NCL ordered two of the 143,500 gross tonne vessels - the largest passenger cruise ships to be built in Germany.

Each will hold approximately 4,000 passengers.

The contract price for the two vessels is approximately €1.2 billion.

“We have always been focused on a disciplined approach to capacity growth,” said NCL chief executive Kevin Sheehan.

“Our decision to add two new ships reflects the significant progress we have made in improving our operating performance and repositioning the Company over the last several years, as well as the strong market demand we are seeing for Norwegian Epic and our other ships.”

ABTA

Finally, NCL has also announced it has joined the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).

Claire Riches, head of marketing Norwegian Cruise Line UK, explained ABTA is strong brand that consumers trust, and the partnership underpins Norwegian Cruise Line’s commitment to the trade and customers in the UK.

“There’s still confusion in the market around consumer protection and we know agents and customer trust the ABTA brand. We’re committed to the UK market and look forward to developing closer ties with ABTA members,” she added.

Norwegian Cruise Line is, and continues to be, an active member of the Passenger Shipping Association.