The hull assembly of Costa Toscana, a 185 000 gross tonnage LNG powered cruise ship began Tuesday at Meyer Turku shipyard with traditional lucky coins being placed on the keel blocks. Costa Toscana (see also CruiseMapper) will enter service in late summer of 2021.
“This symbolic moment in the construction of Costa Toscana marks a further step forward in the use of LNG in the cruise sector. We were the first in the world to believe in this innovation five years ago, when we ordered these new ships, starting a transformation process toward make tourism increasingly sustainable” - said Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises. "LNG is currently the solution that allows the best and most immediate results to be achieved in terms of reducing the environmental impact of ships.”
Toscana is a sister ship to Costa Smeralda, now sailing in the Mediterranean. Even with good feedback from the cruise passengers Meyer Turku CEO Jan Meyer reminds that every ship is an evolution from the previous one.
“We are always building on the learnings of previous ships, but Costa Toscana will also have totally new designs in many features to inspire her passengers. Today is the day when this all starts to become visible in the form of one beautiful ship”, Jan Meyer comments.
The passengers have described Costa Smeralda as a very beautiful and entertaining ship. The crew onboard have already learned to trust her capabilities at sea.
“Costa Smeralda truly became an icon of Italy’s finest designs and our passengers very much appreciate this style. For Costa Toscana we will build on the innovative and now proven LNG-propulsion ship technology from Costa Smeralda”, Neil Palomba comments.
At Meyer Turku shipyard Tuesday, the lucky coins were placed on the keel blocks by senior management from Meyer Turku and Costa Cruises along with VIP guests. The mayor of Turku, Ms. Minna Arve was a guest of honor and acted as the godmother of the ceremony.
“I’m very proud of Costa Cruises’ brave vision and the world-class know-how of Meyer Turku and also of the cooperation that will once again create a jewel of a cruise ship built in Turku”, Minna Arve says.
When finished, Costa Toscana will be one of the most environmentally safe cruise ships in the world. By using LNG as fuel Costa Toscana will have virtually no sulfur dioxide emissions (zero emissions) and particulate matter (95-100% reduction). LNG also significantly reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides (85% direct reduction) and CO2 (reduction of up to 20%).
Source: Meyer Turku