GENOA, Oct. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa
Cruises, the leading cruise line in Europe and a part of Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the
world's largest cruise company, today announced another milestone
for Costa Smeralda, the line's first ship powered by
liquefied natural gas (LNG), with an LNG bunkering operation
successfully performed on October 25
for the first time in Italy.
Carried out in the port of La Spezia and completed at
6:00 pm, the operation was supported
by the Italian Coast Guard, Port Authority of Eastern Ligurian Sea,
local authorities and Shell, which is the LNG supplier partner for
Costa Group and its parent company, Carnival Corporation.
The operation took place with the ship berthed at "Molo Garibaldi" pier, where the bunkering vessel
Coral Methane was positioned alongside (bow to bow) Costa Smeralda,
under the supervision of the Italian Coast Guard and in
coordination with all parties involved and the crews of Costa
Smeralda and Coral Methane.
"As part of our deep commitment to sustainability, we are proud
to have our LNG-powered flagship Costa Smeralda mark this milestone
for Italy and the port of La
Spezia," said Franco Porcellacchia, vice president of
sustainable innovation and infrastructure development for Costa
Group. "Carnival Corporation and Costa were the first cruise
operator to invest in sustainable innovation with LNG-powered ship
technology and we continue to be committed to ensuring the highest
environmental standards for a more sustainable future of
cruising."
"With the LNG bunkering that took place in La Spezia, we also
marked the 50th successful operation for a Costa Group
ship," said Tom Strang,
senior vice president of maritime affairs for Carnival Corporation.
"This is another important milestone that we have achieved by
working together with our partners, as we continue to demonstrate
Carnival Corporation's commitment to sustainability and developing
the most advanced fuel technologies available today. We are at the
forefront of advancing LNG as a fuel source for the cruise industry
and we are working to build an extensive, safe and reliable LNG
infrastructure for cruise ships around the globe."
"The goal of our working group was to implement appropriate
rules and procedures to ensure the highest safety standards,
starting with navigation, environmental protection, fire prevention
and workplace safety," said Giovanni
Stella, captain of La Spezia Coast Guard. "Every
prescription adopted was duly observed and we are particularly
satisfied that the operation had a regular evolution. Thanks to
this positive experience, we believe that other maritime
authorities can implement the regulation we have defined in order
to increase the LNG distribution infrastructure in Italian ports,
as indicated by the Italian and European regulations."
"A very important milestone was reached for the first time in
our country, once again right in the port of La Spezia," said
Carla Roncallo, president of
the Port Authority of Eastern Ligurian Sea. "I would like to
thank in particular the La Spezia Coast Guard and the Maritime
Directorate of Liguria, who
together with Costa Cruises made this operation possible, always
keeping safety at the first place."
Costa Smeralda is the first LNG-powered ship in the Costa
Cruises fleet, and will be followed by Costa Toscana, the sister
LNG ship scheduled to be delivered in late 2021. Another LNG ship,
AIDAnova from AIDA Cruises, has been operating within the Costa
Group fleet since 2018 and she will be followed by other two sister
vessels by 2023.
As part of the overall Carnival Corporation fleet, a third
LNG-powered ship, P&O Cruises UK's Iona, was recently
delivered. LNG, the marine industry's most advanced fuel
technology, significantly improves overall air emissions with the
virtual elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions (zero emissions)
and a 95% to 100% reduction in particulate matter. The use of LNG
also significantly reduces emissions of nitrogen oxide and carbon
dioxide by 85% and 20%, respectively.
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SOURCE Costa Cruises