Milan, July 28, 2015 – Costa Cruises today announced an order to build two next-generation cruise ships,
with the largest guest capacity in the world. They will feature a revolutionary “green design”: the two ships
will be the first in the cruise industry (together with the two new ships previously announced for Aida
Cruises, the German brand of Costa Group) to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the world’s
cleanest burning fossil fuel, representing a major environmental breakthrough.
The two ships will be built by Meyer shipyard in Turku, Finland, with delivery in 2019 and 2020. Each of
them will exceed 180,000 gross tonnage, offering more than 2,600 passenger cabins for a total of 6,600
passengers onboard.
Costa order is part of a multibillion dollar contract with two Meyer shipyards in Turku (Finland) and
Papenburg (Germany), including also two new ships for Aida Cruises. The contract with Meyer is the result of
a larger previously announced memo of understanding between Carnival Corporation & plc, the home
company of Costa Group, and leading shipbuilders Meyer Werft, Meyer Turku and Fincantieri S.p.A. for nine
new ships between 2019 and 2022.
“These ships will expand the leadership position for the Costa Group, the market leader in all the major
continental European markets,” said Michael Thamm, CEO of the Costa Group. “The multibillion dollar
contract with Meyer mirrors our strategy to constantly innovate our vacation offers and to deliver unmatched
cruise experience to our guests.”
“The two Costa ships are real innovation for the market, setting new standards for the whole industry: they
will be the first green ships powered with LNG and they will offer an extensive number of guest-friendly
features. Furthermore they will be the expression of the new positioning Italy's finest.” – explains Neil
Palomba, President of Costa Cruises – “The order also confirms that Costa brand will continue to grow,
becoming even stronger and keep on generating a positive economic impact in the main countries where it
operates, including Italy”.
Pioneering a new era in the use of sustainable fuels, Costa new ships will be the first in the cruise industry to
use LNG in dual-powered hybrid engines to power the ship both in port and on the open sea. LNG will be
stored onboard the ships and used to generate 100 percent power at sea – producing another industry-first
innovation for Costa. Using LNG to power the ships in port and at sea will significantly reduce exhaust
emissions to help protect the environment and support the company’s aggressive sustainability goals.
“We are honoured that Costa Group has entrusted us with the technical design and construction of their next
generation ships for Europe, featuring a revolutionary green cruising design implemented to meet specific
Costa Group’s needs.” - commented Jan Meyer CEO of Meyer Turku Oy and added: “We are building the ships
with a strong team in Turku and with the support of mostly European suppliers, who are the best in their field.
Among those leading suppliers, there are also a number of Italian companies, which we have worked well with
in Finland as well as in Germany. We are aiming to continue this successful legacy.”
The new order represents a remarkable opportunity also for Italy. According to Costa Cruises forecast, about
750 Italian crewmembers are expected to be hired to work on the two ships. Furthermore Italy will be
featured in the onboard guest experience: the new ships will be ambassadors of Italy’s finest at seas,
allowing thousand of international guests to discover the excellence of the Country in terms of style,
hospitality and enogastronomic specialities, entertainment.
The new ship order will allow the Costa Group to continue to build on its leadership position in the
continental European cruise market – a market in which five out of ten cruise guests in 2014 sailed onboard
a Costa Group ship.
