Earlier today at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard, the fore end block was laid for the Costa Diadema, the future flagship of Costa Cruises.

The Costa Diadema is scheduled for delivery on October 30, 2014.  Following her entry into service, the Costa fleet will be able to accommodate up to 45,000 guests at any one time.

The part of the fore end section that has been installed is about 8 meters high and weighs around 392 tons; it is about 34 meters long, with a maximum breadth of 36.11 meters.

Costa Cruises has invested a total of around 550 million euros in the construction of the Costa Diadema. 

The project is employing a total of approximately 1000 shipyard workers plus another 2500 employees of allied industries. 

The benefits in terms of employment extend beyond the yard, especially regarding the fitting-out of the interiors of the cruise ship, with the involvement of about 400 contracted suppliers, most of which are Italian firms.

The Costa Diadema is the 10th cruise ship built in Italy by Fincantieri for Costa Cruises since 2000, with a total investment worth almost 5 billion euros.