Meyer Turku floats Costa Smeralda out of her building dock

Meyer Turku has floated Costa Cruises’ first LNG-powered cruise ship, Costa Smeralda, out of her building dock at its yard in Turku, Finland.

Following a traditional ceremony to mark the construction milestone, the 180,000gt ship was moved to Meyer Turku’s outfitting pier where she will remain until her delivery in October 2019.

Once complete, the ship will offer a three-level area in the middle of the ship that will host entertainment, Italy-inspired piazzas, 11 restaurants, 19 bars, a water park with slides, a multi-sport field, four swimming pools, theatre, disco, casino, jazz club piano bar, a games room and a spa, which has a beauty salon, hammam, thalasso therapy pool and 16 treatment rooms. The vessel will also have her own onboard museum called CoDe - Costa Design Museum, which will be curated by Matteo Vercelloni and showcase the “excellence of Italian design” by featuring many of the people who have contributed to the ship's construction.

“With the hull of the ship now completed, the next stage of the building process is proceeding to complete all these attractions and features, making sure at the same time that Costa Smeralda will be a safe, reliable and comfortable ship to sail at sea,” said Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku. “After the summer, the commissioning and testing of the ship's myriad of automatic systems will intensify both at the pier and at sea before delivery.”

Costa Smeralda will be one of two new LNG-powered cruise ships to join Costa’s fleet and one of the first in the world that will be able to operate using the fuel at sea and in port.

“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,” said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises. “Costa Group is the market leader in Europe and China, and we continue to make sustainable tourism a key part of our industry leadership.”