Construction Started on Costa Cruises' First LNG-Powered Ship

A steel-cutting ceremony for Costa Smeralda was held at the Meyer Turku shipyard on Wednesday. Image Credit: Costa Cruises

Costa Crociere S.p.A. (Costa Cruises) Wednesday announced that construction has begun on Costa Smeralda - the brand's first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered cruise ship.

A steel-cutting ceremony for the vessel was held at the Meyer Turku Oy (Meyer Turku) shipyard in Turku, Finland on Wednesday.

Costa Smeralda is slated to enter service in October 2019, with a sister ship set to be delivered to Costa Cruises by Meyer Turku in 2021.

"The two new Costa Cruises ships are a true global innovation and set new standards for the entire sector," said Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises.

"They will be among the first cruise ships powered by LNG, spurring the development of this green technology, especially in the Mediterranean area, and they will be the world’s first LNG-powered ships that will be marketed to consumers from multiple countries, including Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and Switzerland."

As Ship & Bunker has reported, the two vessels come under a wider order by Carnival Corporation & plc (Carnival) for seven LNG-powered ships across its 10 brands.

"These ships will strengthen the leadership position for the Costa Group, which is already the market leader in all the major continental Europe markets," said Michael Thamm, CEO of the Costa Group and Carnival Asia.

"The multibillion dollar contract with Meyer, which also includes two new LNG-powered ships to be built for our German brand, AIDA Cruises, reflects our strategy of constantly innovating our vacation offerings and providing our guests with an unmatched cruise experience."

As Ship & Bunker reported in October 2016, Carnival has signed a framework agreement with Shell Western LNG B.V. (Shell) for the supply of LNG bunkers to the first two of Carnival's new LNG ships for AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises.