On 15 January 2021 Costa Cruises marked the float-out ceremony of the new flagship Costa Toscana at the Meyer shipyard in Turku, Finland. She will be delivered in December.
Costa Toscana, as her sister ship Costa Smeralda, is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the marine industry’s most advanced fuel technology currently available for reducing emissions, both at sea and during port calls.
Costa Group, which includes Costa Cruises, Germany-based AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia, was the first in the cruise industry worldwide to introduce this technology, having ordered five new LNG-powered ships, two of which, Costa Smeralda and AIDAnova, have already entered service.
They are part of an expansion plan that includes seven new ships to be delivered to Costa Group by 2023, for a total investment of more than six billion euros.
During the float-out ceremony, Costa Toscana officially touched the sea for the first time, with the flooding of the basin where she has been built in recent months. She will enter service in December 2021, once the interior fittings have been completed.
Thanks to the use of LNG, it will be possible to virtually eliminate emissions of sulfur dioxide (zero emissions) and particulate matter into the atmosphere (95-100% reduction), while also significantly lowering emissions of nitrogen oxides (direct reduction of 85%) and CO2 (up to 20%).
On board, special desalinisation plants will process seawater directly to meet daily water supply requirements, and energy consumption will be reduced to a minimum thanks to an intelligent energy efficiency system.
In addition, 100% separate collection and recycling of materials such as plastic, paper, glass and aluminum will be carried out on board, as part of an integrated approach aimed at supporting circular economy projects.
Costa Toscana will make its debut in Brazil in the 2021-22 season. In particular, the inaugural New Year’s Eve cruise will depart from Santos on 26 December 2021, with a week-long itinerary visiting Salvador and Ilhéus, and returning to Santos on 2 January 2022.
From 2 January to 10 April 2022 Costa Toscana will offer another 15 cruises with the same itinerary, embarking in Santos and Salvador. The 15 cruises also include the Carnival and Easter departures, which will be the ship’s last cruise before the Brazil-Italy crossing, departing from Santos on 17 April 2022.
