EN 
it
Last 4 July in Turku, Finland - Meyer shipyard - Costa Crociere held the traditional "Coin Cerimony" for its new cruise ship Costa Smeralda, the first dedicated to the international market totally powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Top management from Costa Crociere and Meyer Turku shipyards took part in the event. "We are particularly excited to celebrate this symbolic moment for our new ship. Costa Smeralda, powered 100% by LNG, represents a real innovation for the international market ", said Neil Palomba, general manager of Costa Crociere.
"Costa Smeralda represents a true innovation for the international market and helps to set new standards for the entire sector", added Palomba, who continues: "Our strategy will provide a great boost to the development of LNG as an alternative fuel for the cruise sector" .
60% of Costa and Carnival Corporation fleet is equipped with exhaust gas purification filters, while the new ones will be fuelled with LNG.
Costa Smeralda, with a tonnage of 180 thousand tons, 2,600 cabins for a total of about 6,600 passengers, will be inaugurated in Savona on 3 November 2019. The day after it will leave for a six-day maiden cruise from Savona to Barcelona, Marseilles and Civitavecchia. It will then continue to sail in the Western Mediterranean until April 2020.
"The coin ceremony (which consists in incorporating coins into the structure of the ship) marks, for the ship, the beginning of the assembly of the hull. It is a very emotional moment for us, because finally our design and construction efforts start to take shape, becoming a real ship, "said Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.
In 2021, a second ship, the twin ship of Costa Smeralda, is expected to be delivered, built by the Meyer-Turku shipyards.
Fonte: different sources