Meyer Turku shipyard delivers new Costa flag ship

Costa Smeralda (Image: Meyer Turku)

After a couple of delays (see earlier story), Finland’s Meyer Turku shipyard yesterday delivered the 180,000 gt, 6,552 passenger, Costa Smeralda to Costa Cruises, the Italian brand of Carnival Corporation & plc.

Meyer says that the ship is “one of the most innovative, and some would claim, the most beautiful ships ever built at Turku shipyard.”

Costa Smeralda is the brand’s first ship fueled by LNG. It is Carnival Corporation’s fourth new ship of 2019 and its second LNG-powered ship (the first being AIDAnova).

Costa Smeralda is the first of two new sister ships for Costa Cruises that can be powered in port and at sea by LNG. The second, Costa Toscana, is currently under construction at Meyer Turku and scheduled to be delivered in 2021.

LNG fueling is only one of the ship’s innovative features. Costa Smeralda is a breakthrough project showcasing creative Italian design and innovative spaces for the guests to enjoy.

“We have used all our knowledge, skills and imagination to design and build this ship,” said Meyer Turku CEO, Jan Meyer. “I would especially like to mention the Colosseo, a three-deck open area in the middle of the ship with state-of-the-art audio-visual technology inside which required a specific design and building capabilities.”

TRAVELING SMART CITY

Meyer Turku says Costa Smeralda is truly a traveling “smart city.” Apart from the major innovation of liquefied natural gas, the ship incorporates a series of cutting-edge technological innovations designed to further reduce environmental impact. The daily water requirement is drawn directly from the sea thanks to the ship’s desalination systems. Energy consumption is reduced to a minimum by using LED lights, recovering the heat generated by the engines, the shape of the hull is designed to significantly reduce drag in the water, and the ship’s new-generation elevators recover energy that is reintroduced into the electricity system.

Single-use plastic products, which have been eliminated from Costa Cruises ships for most catering purposes and replaced with alternative materials, will gradually be reduced well in advance of the upcoming European Parliament directives regarding single-use plastics reduction requirements. Additionally, fully separated waste collection and recycling of materials, including plastic, paper, glass and aluminum, will be part of an integrated approach designed to support circular economy projects.

The brand’s 4GOODFOOD program dedicated to reducing food waste and recovering surpluses for social purposes will also be implemented on Costa Smeralda.

Costa Smeralda was set to depart Turku today for the Mediterranean, where it will be refueled with LNG in Barcelona on December 18 and then will make calls to Marseille on December 19 and Savona on December 20, as part of three presentations with travel agents. On December 21, Costa Smeralda will depart Savona for its maiden voyage, a weeklong cruise calling on Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia.