Costa Cruises has entered into the so-called Genoa Blue Agreement requiring marine gasoil with a sulfur content not exceeding 0.10 percent by mass before entering the ports of Savona and Genoa.

“By signing the Genoa Blue Agreement protocol today, we have further strengthened our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our ships. This commitment is one that Costa made voluntarily some years ago, pre-empting future regulations,” said Neil Palomba, president of Costa, in a prepared statement. “We are also pleased to see that other shipping companies and other maritime sectors have also signed up, which will further benefit the communities we visit daily.

According to Costa, the Genoa Blue Agreement also reiterates the effectiveness of exhaust gas cleaning systems. When these are used, the ships are also considered to be in full compliance. At the moment, over 70 percent of the ships in the Costa fleet are already equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems.

Since the end of March, the Costa Fortuna has been docking regularly in Genoa, where it expects to handle 170,000 passengers in 2019. Costa has also confirmed that the Costa Pacifica will be replace the Fortuna in Genoa in 2020. In total, Costa stated it will guarantee the Liguria region 243 calls in 2019, equivalent to around 1,200,000 passengers.

However, Savona is currently Costa’s main port. The company and the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority are making significant investments in preparation for the arrival of Costa Smeralda, Costa’s first ship fueled by LNG. The total investment is said to amount to more than 20 million euros. 164 calls are expected in 2019, with 750,000 passenger movements.

In La Spezia, Costa, having joined forces with other companies, has won the contract to manage the port’s cruise services, which includes the construction of a new cruise terminal. In 2019, Costa Group ships will make 50 calls generating some 250,000 passenger movements at the port of La Spezia, including 29 calls by the AIDAnova.