Costa Cruises has celebrated the cussessful completion of sea trials for Costa Toscana during a traditional coin ceremony at the Meyer shipyard in Turku. Toscana is Costa’s second ship powered by liquefied natural gas, the marine industry’s most advanced fuel technology available for reducing emissions.
Costa Cruises has celebrated the successful completion of the sea trials for Costa Toscana with a traditional coin ceremony at the Meyer shipyard in Turku (Finland). The ceremony was attended by the ship’s captain Pietro Sinisi, and by the shipyard and cruise line’s management.
Following the maritime tradition commemorative coins were placed on the ship, as a good luck charm for crew members, guests and future itineraries.
In the two weeks prior to the coin ceremony, Costa Toscana had left the Turku shipyard to carry out the necessary sea trials. During her sea trials the ship successfully passed a series of tests to verify the proper functioning of systems, equipment, and LNG engines. This sea trials mark another important step towards the delivery of Costa Toscana which is scheduled for December 2021.
Costa Toscana, like her sister ship Costa Smeralda, is powered by liquefied natural gas, the marine industry’s most advanced fuel technology currently available for reducing emissions, both at sea and during port calls. The Costa Group – which includes Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises – has been the first company in the cruise industry to believe in this technology and can currently count on four LNG-powered ships. Two ships, AIDAnova and Costa Smeralda, are already in service. The other ships, Costa Toscana and AIDACosma, are scheduled for delivery in the coming months.
Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises, commented: “These additional key steps in the completion of the Costa Toscana confirm our commitment to evolution towards an increasingly
sustainable cruise model. At the same time Costa Toscana, thanks to her excellent and innovative services, will be able to attract new cruise guests, helping us to consolidate our presence in the Mediterranean and our gradual restart plan”.
Costa Toscana’s first cruise will depart from Savona, Italy, on March 5, 2022, with a week-long itinerary that includes Marseille, Barcelona, Valencia, Palermo and Civitavecchia/Rome. Following
her debut, the new flagship will remain deployed in the Western Mediterranean throughout the year. During the summer season, Costa Smeralda will call at Savona, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Ibiza, Valencia and Marseille. During the fall season Palma de Mallorca will replace Ibiza.