Carnival Corporation’s Costa Cruises has taken delivery of the LNG-powered Costa Toscana from the Meyer Turku yard in Finland.
LNG Prime reported on this delivery in September as the 185,000 GT vessel had completed its sea trials.
Meyer Turku yard floated out this 337 meters long cruise ship in January this year. It is a sister vessel to LNG-powered Costa Smeralda that joined the Italian brand of Carnival in 2019.
Costa Toscana’s first cruise will depart from Savona, Italy, on March 5, 2022, with a week-long itinerary. This includes Marseille, Barcelona, Valencia, Palermo and Civitavecchia/Rome, according to Costa Cruises.
Following its debut, the new flagship will remain deployed in the Western Mediterranean throughout the year.
During the summer season, the LNG-powered ship will call at Savona, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Ibiza, Valencia, Marseille, while during the autumn season Palma de Mallorca will replace Ibiza.
Reducing environmental impact
In addition to its LNG propulsion, the ship features a series of technological innovations designed to further reduce environmental impact, Costa Cruises said.
The entire daily water requirement is met by transforming seawater using desalination plants while energy consumption is minimized thanks to an intelligent energy efficiency system.
Furthermore, 100 percent separate waste collection and recycling of materials such as plastic, paper, glass and aluminum would be carried out on board, as part of an integrated approach aimed at implementing circular economy projects, the cruise operator said.
Fleet of LNG-powered vessels
Carnival and its units are heavily investing in LNG-powered vessels as they look to slash emissions and costs.
Costa Group, which includes Costa Cruises, Germany-based AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia, has ordered several new LNG-powered ships.
Two of these, Costa Smeralda and AIDAnova, are already in operation.
Earlier this year, Germany’s Meyer Werft has floated out the second LNG-powered cruise ship for Carnival’s AIDA Cruises.
The LNG-powered AIDACosma would join the fleet soon, Costa Cruises said.
