Costa Smeralda floated out with traditional ceremonies at Meyer Turku shipyard
Costa Cruises today celebrated the official float-out ceremony of its new ship, Costa Smeralda, at the Meyer shipyard in Turku, one of the biggest shipbuilding complexes in the world.
As part of today’s float-out ceremony, the new Costa flagship officially reached the sea for the first time. The celebration, hosted by the senior management of Costa Cruises and Meyer Turku, followed the seafaring tradition of flooding the basin where the ship’s construction took shape in recent months.
Entering into service in October 2019, upon completion of the interiors, Costa Smeralda will be the first Costa ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel. She will represent an environmental breakthrough that will improve air quality by preventing emissions of particulate matter and sulfur oxides almost entirely at sea and in port. It also significantly reduces the emission of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. Costa Smeralda and its sister ship, to be launched in 2021, will contribute to the ambitious sustainability goals, such as reducing its carbon footprint of 25 percent by 2020, set by Costa and Carnival Corporation.
“We celebrate this symbolic moment for our new ship with great enthusiasm,” said Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises, part of Costa Group, which also includes AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia. “Costa Smeralda represents a major innovation for the international market and an important step toward setting new standards for the entire sector, with LNG being a breakthrough in fuel technology. Costa Group is the market leader in Europe and China, and we continue to make sustainable tourism a fundamental part of our industry leadership.”
“It has been very exciting to design and build Costa Smeralda together with our colleagues at Costa Cruises. I believe Smeralda will be a truly unique and innovative ship both in engineering and design and I feel confident that passengers will enjoy all the attractions onboard. For us shipbuilders the float-out of a ship is always very special occasion as the ship will now be in her element at the outfitting pier and we will start the finalizing phase of the construction”, said CEO of Meyer Turku Jan Meyer.
Added Palomba: “I am particularly proud of Costa Smeralda, as she will be unique in terms of innovative design and on-board services. She will pay tribute to the many things about Italy that people around the world love and appreciate. She has been designed with great passion and detail to deliver on our brand promise of providing our guests with an unforgettable vacation experience. We look forward to Costa Smeralda inspiring and welcoming new consumers and veteran cruise-goers into the exciting and immersive environment of a next-generation cruise ship.”
Featuring over 2,600 staterooms, Costa Smeralda will take its guests on a veritable “tour of Italy,” with lots of areas devoted to fun, flavours and festivity.
The ship’s name, Costa Smeralda, recalls one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Sardinia (Emerald Coast), as well as the names of the decks and public areas dedicated to famous places and squares of Italy. The ship will feature 11 restaurants, 19 bars, an amazing spa area with 16 treatment rooms, a water park with slides, four swimming pools and an area fully dedicated to kids. Costa Smeralda will also have her very own Costa Desing Museum, “The CoDe,” dedicated to the excellence of Italian design.
Delivery of a second vessel, the sister ship of Costa Smeralda, also built by Meyer-Turku, is expected in 2021.
(Costa Cruises, Meyer Turku Shipyard)
