​Costa Smeralda Floated Out At Meyer Turku

Costa Cruises new flagship, Costa Smeralda has been floated out of the construction dry-dock at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland.

At 183,900 gross tonnes,  the new ship is the largest ever constructed for Costa Cruises and will become the new flagship of the fleet when it enters service in October 2019.

Costa Smeralda will be LNG-powered and represents a major breakthrough and innovative advances in fuel technology for the cruise industry.

Neil Palomba, President, Costa Cruises, said: “With LNG a breakthrough in fuel technology, Costa Smeralda represents a major innovation for the international market and an important step toward setting new standards for the entire sector. Costa Group is the market leader in Europe and China, and we continue to make sustainable tourism a key part of our industry leadership”.

Jan Meyer, CEO, Meyer Turku, said: “We have been very excited to bring our expertise in designing, engineering and construction of LNG ships in service for Costa Smeralda. This ship is also going to be a step up in ship size for us, as we are continuing our production ramp-up to two times the level of previous high for the shipyard. With the hull of the ship now completed, the next stage of the building process is proceeding to complete all the attractions and features, making sure at the same time that Smeralda will be a safe, reliable and comfortable ship to sail at sea. After the summer the commissioning and testing of the ships myriad of automatic systems will intensify both at the pier and at sea before delivery”.

Having been floated out, the shipyard will now begin the outfitting phase in the construction of the new vessel. The ship will undergo sea trials later this year before its official hand over and delivery to Costa Cruises.

Costa Smeralda measures 337 metres in length, 42 metres wide and have a service speed of 17 knots. The new flagship will accommodate up to 6,554 passengers and 1,646 crew. The ship will offer cruises in the Western Mediterranean during its inaugural season.