Assembly has started for the new LNG-fueled Costa Toscana at Meyer Turkuy, due to for a June 2021 delivery.

The start of hull assembly work on the Costa Toscana was celebrated with a ceremony involving the top management of Costa Cruises and the Meyer Turku shipyard. The mayor of Turku, Minna Arve, was chosen as the godmother for the event.

According to naval tradition, during the ceremony a number of commemorative coins were placed on the keel of the ship as a symbol of good wishes for members of the crew, passengers and future journeys.

Over the next few weeks, the ship will begin to take shape in the shipyard’s drydock, where a large section of the hull has already been positioned. This measures 100 meters and corresponds to the “floating engine room unit” (FERU), containing the ship’s engines.

“This symbolic moment in the construction of Costa Toscana marks a further step forward in the use of LNG in the cruise sector. We were the first in the world to believe in this innovation five years ago, when we ordered these new ships, starting a transformation process toward make tourism increasingly sustainable,” said Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises. “LNG is currently the solution that allows the best and most immediate results to be achieved in terms of reducing the environmental impact of ships.”

“We are always building on the experiences from previous ships, but the Costa Toscana will also have totally new design in many features to inspire the passengers. Today is the day when this all starts to become visible in the form of one beautiful ship,” said Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.

The inaugural cruise of the Costa Toscana will leave Hamburg on June 28, 2021, sailing for 14 days with a final destination of Savona and a program that includes long calls of two days and one night in Lisbon, Barcelona and Marseilles. During summer 2021, the Costa Toscana will offer one week cruises in the Western Mediterranean, calling at Savona, Naples, Cagliari, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Marseille.