Costa Cuts Steel for Next LNG-Fueled Cruise Ship

On Tuesday, Costa Cruises held the steel-cutting ceremony for the future Costa Toscana at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. 

Costa Toscana is the second of two new sister ships ordered by Costa Cruises that can be powered full-time on LNG. The first, Costa Smeralda, is nearing completion at Meyer Turku and will enter service this October. Costa Toscana is on schedule for delivery in 2021. The 180,000 GT, 2,600 stateroom vessels are part of the Costa Group's fleet expansion plan, which includes a total of seven new ships scheduled to enter service by 2023.

"The steel-cutting ceremony for Costa Toscana is another step forward in our sustainable development plan," said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises. "LNG propulsion for cruise ships is a major innovation, pioneering a new era in the use of low-carbon fuels that will significantly reduce exhaust emissions to help protect the environment without compromising on safety, in line with our top priorities."

Costa is a Carnival brand, and in total, Carnival has 10 more LNG-fueled cruise ships on order, with expected delivery dates between 2019 and 2025 for AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK), Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Costa Cruises. The world's first LNG-powered cruise vessel, Carnival brand AIDA's new AIDAnova, entered service at the end of last year. 

Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana are part of what Carnival describes as its strategy for carbon footprint reduction. Carnival achieved its 25 percent carbon reduction goal three years ahead of schedule in 2017, and it says that it made additional progress on that goal with a 28 percent reduction in emissions from operations in 2018.

The two ships are part of a growing order book for Meyer Turku, which now has business booked out through 2025. The yard is investing $220 million in drydock enhancements, a new plasma cutter line and other improvements, and it is actively hiring.