Costa Cruises, the Italian company of the American Carnival, has taken delivery from the Meyer shipyard in Turku (Finland), Costa Toscana, new ship in the fleet powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the most advanced technology currently in the maritime sector to reduce emissions.
The Costa group – which controls the homonymous brand and the German brand Aida Cruises – was the first in the world, in the cruise industry, to use liquefied natural gas, and can currently count on four ships powered by this technology: AidaNova and Costa Smeralda, already in service, Costa Toscana, just delivered, and AidaCosma, coming soon.
The LNG resource
LNG, despite being a fossil fuel, represents a turning point in terms of improving the environmental performance of cruise ships, both at sea and during stops in port. Its use allows, in fact, to eliminate almost totally emissions of sulfur oxides (which drop to zero) and particulate matter (95-100% reduction). But it also significantly contains nitrogen oxide (85% direct reduction) and Co2 (up to 20% reduction).
«Costa Toscana – explained Mario Zanetti, general manager of Costa Cruises – strengthens our commitment to responsible innovation, further contributing to the use of LNG applied to cruise ships, a technology in which we were the first to believe. AND an innovation that is part of an ecological transition path in constant evolution. In fact, we are also working on experimenting with further novelties, such as fuel cells and batteries, with the aim of arriving at the first ship with net zero emissions ».
The itineraries
The first cruise of the Costa Toscana will depart from Savona, on March 5, 2022, with a one-week itinerary that will visit Marseille, Barcelona, Valencia, Palermo and Civitavecchia / Rome. After its debut, the new flagship will remain in the western Mediterranean throughout the year. During the summer season it will make a stopover in Savona, Civitavecchia / Rome, Naples, Ibiza, Valencia, Marseille; during the autumn season, however, Palma de Mallorca will take the place of Ibiza.