Sister of this year's Costa Smeralda
The 180,000gt newbuild, due for delivery in 2020, is a sister of Costa Smeralda, to enter service in October this year. Each has 5,322 lower berths. Both are LNG-powered.
Costa Cruises President Neil Palomba called the steel-cutting 'another step forward in our sustainable development plan. LNG propulsion for cruise ships is a major innovation, pioneering a new era in the use of low-carbon fuels that will significantly reduce exhaust emissions to help protect the environment without compromising on safety, in line with our top priorities.'
The Costa Group, including AIDA Cruises, was the first to invest in LNG technology, which Palomba noted is 'really starting to take hold.
Gas bunkering infrastructure
'However, a lot remains to be done in terms of the ready availability of gas bunkering infrastructure to ensure the seamless transition to LNG,' he said. Though Costa Toscana and Costa Smeralda will be highly innovative, they will retain the Italian hospitality that is Costa's trademark. Their interiors are themed 'Italy's Finest.'
New York-based hospitality designer Adam Tihany, who's serving as creative director for these next-generation ships, was on hand in Turku today.
'Both of these ships will have lots of beautiful design and interesting features, and of course very high quality work and best-in-industry engineering. We are very proud to build these ships for Costa,' Meyer Turku CEO Jan Meyer said.
'Modern shipyard for modern ships'
Meyer Turku's steel hall is among €200m in investments going into its facilities. As Jan Meyer summed up: 'Modern shipyard for modern ships.'
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