Costa Cruises, Italy’s largest tourism group, has placed a new order with Fincantieri SpA for the construction of a new cruise ship.
With a gross tonnage of 132,500, 3,700 lower berths, 4,928 guests and 1,854 cabins, she will be the largest Italian cruise ship.
The new flagship in the Costa fleet and the Italian passenger fleet will be built at the Fincantieri shipyards in Marghera, Venice, for a total ship owner’s all-in cost of approximately €150,000 per lower berth. Delivery is planned for October 2014.
The new ship will be an innovative evolution of the “Concordia-class” project, developed by integrating and improving the main features of the latest successful Costa ships entered into service. This new ship order is subject to financing.
At the same time Costa Cruises also announced the sale of the Costa Marina, which has been in service for more than 20 years, and as of November 2011 will no longer be part of the fleet.
“This new order, the 10th in 10 years, not only consolidates the link between our company and Fincantieri, but also demonstrates the leadership achieved by Costa Cruises in Europe and its ability to drive the cruise business and tourism in general, generating wealth for the country’s economy. This innovative project will once again be a symbol of Italy’s quintessential ability to create excellent products, in terms of design, technology and innovation, aimed at strengthening the best image of made-in-Italy products around the world. While this new order will not lead to a significant increase in Costa Cruises’ capacity it is part of a plan that will make the fleet more efficient,” pointed out Pier Luigi Foschi, chairman and CEO of Costa Cruises.
Fincantieri’s CEO, Giuseppe Bono, said: “In a moment of significant crisis, such as the one the shipbuilding sector is experiencing at present, where a dramatic reduction in the number of orders has been seen worldwide, Fincantieri once again demonstrates its expertise and ability to keep its own, gaining a new and very important commission which only reconfirms and reinforces our leading role in this market.
“It’s true to say that such success is possible thanks to our partners, the Carnival Group and our friends at Costa, who encouragingly, despite the economic crisis, continue to invest and believe in the growth and development in the cruise ship market. Many thanks also to the Italian state which guarantees funding through its dedicated departments”.
The agreement was announced a few days after the technical launch of Costa Fascinosa, another new Costa ship being built at Marghera shipyards, which is due to enter service in May 2012. Since 2000, Costa Cruises has ordered a total of 10 new ships to Fincantieri Italian shipyards, for a total investment of over €5 billion.