News

Chantiers de l’Atlantique to test large composite masts, solid sail on its site

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 17 February 2021 17 February 2021

Chantiers de l'Atlantinque, the French shipbuilder, said that it would test tall composite mast and solid sail on its site in St Nazaire in a move to make their use on large ships closer to becoming reality.

This autumn, the company will test a 38 metre tall composite mast and solid sail of 550 square metres on the quayside at its site, while a year later, a full sized mast of 95 metres in height with solid sail of 1,200 square metres would be erected. This would be the height of masts to be used on a 200 metre long sail powered cruise ship that the yard has designed.

Speaking an online presentation on 16 February, Chantiers de l'Atlantinque CEO Laurent Castaing said that solid sails have so far been tested on a small sailing yacht and onboard a sail powered cruise ship, on which one such sail had been fitted. Both tests showed that the concept works.

As the name would suggest, solid sails are made of composite material and parts of them are connected to each other by metal rings. This means that the sail folds in largely the same way as do sails currently in use. They can also partly lowered to reduce the amount of wind they catch in strong wind conditions.

Castaing said that conventional sails and masts would not be strong enough to bear the load of the wind in the scale that Chantiers de l'Atlantinque is planning to use them in their concept design three masted cruise ship.

The mats in the concept design vessel tilt up to 70 degrees forward to reduce their height, which is a requirement in the cruise industry as ships need to pass under bridges e.g. at Verrazano Narrows outside New York, Golden Gate in San Francisco and Oresund between Malmo and Copenhagen in Scandinavia.

Castaing said in his presentation that some owners have already expressed an interest in the solid sail concept cruise ship. They can also be used in other ship types, such as container vessels, he said.

Fincantieri hands over Costa Firenze

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 23 December 2020 23 December 2020

Costa Cruises, part of Carnival Corporation & plc, officially took delivery of the new Costa Firenze from Fincantieri on December 22. Designed and built in the Marghera shipyard the ship is inspired by the Florentine Renaissance.

With 135,500 gross tons and a capacity of more than 5,200 guests, the Costa Firenze is part of the development plan that includes seven new ships to be delivered for the Costa Group by 2023, for a total investment of more than €6 billion. Costa Firenze is the fourth of these new ships to be delivered with three more to come.

Of the 14 ships currently operating in the Costa Cruises fleet, 11 were built by Fincantieri, confirming the solid relationship between the two companies, as well as representing a significant contribution to the Italian economy, including guaranteeing work for thousands of employees in the shipyards and external companies, mainly involved in interiors fittings.

“The handover of the new Costa Firenze is a sign of hope and restart for the whole cruise and tourism ecosystems. This ship represents the most tangible evidence of the will of our group to restart. Our hope is that people will soon be able to travel again and that more ships will set sail and contribute to the revitalization of tourism in Italy, Europe and globally,” stated Michael Thamm, group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia. “Looking beyond the pandemic, Costa’s goal is to design the future of sustainable and zero emission cruising and we hope that our long-lasting partnership with Fincantieri can bring our companies to work together on a roadmap that can lead to this ambitious yet essential objective.”

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: “Costa Firenze is the third cruise ship we have delivered since September and we are pleased that the name of this unit recalls one of the most famous cities of art in Italy and in the world. The delivery is an important moment because it is the concrete demonstration that the company is getting back to its normal production activity. I would also like to underline that the financial and economic situation of Fincantieri has not changed significantly compared to what we communicated in the previous quarters. The company has proven to be very resilient, avoiding the cancellation of orders and strengthening relations with the customers of the cruise sector. We are a growing company, we gained an international reputation and reliability, making further development easier, and we can count on an order book guaranteeing long-term visibility with opportunities to increase efficiency, productivity and profitability”.

“Costa Firenze is a superb ambassador of Italian style, bringing a distinctive Italian taste for beauty to the seas around the world, from Europe to Asia,” said Mario Zanetti, chief commercial officer of Costa Cruises and president of Costa Group Asia. “The concept of the Costa Firenze is inspired by an iconic city, which represents Italian art, taste and refinement in the world's collective imagination. We have designed this ship to offer our guests a unique experience, especially for the family target, with a specific offer of entertainment and services.”

Costa Firenze's interior design is a celebration of the Tuscan city, cradle of Renaissance art and culture. The common spaces reflect the harmony of a stroll through a Florentine street or square, even in the choice of colors. Gastronomic offerings are based on the great Mediterranean cuisine, with a wide choice of dining options guaranteed by 13 bars and seven restaurants. The ship is perfect for families, with specific offers and some new features such as a real "adventure park" on board.

The Costa Firenze project also takes sustainability in special regard. Costa Firenze's excellent environmental performance has been acknowledged by RINA, an international certification organization, with Green Star 3, a voluntary notation covering all the main aspects of a ship's environmental impact and requiring maximum protection and prevention across areas such as waste, grey water, black water, machinery oil, CO2, ozone, greenhouse gases, particulate matter, sulphur oxides, nitrogen and ballast water, among others. In addition to honoring compliance with a series of environmental sustainability standards, the certification also recognizes the design solutions and operating procedures that Costa has implemented voluntarily, both during construction and navigation, aimed at outperforming the environmental protection requirements of international regulations.

The ship will first sail in the Mediterranean in 2021, providing two different week-long itineraries in the western Mediterranean. The first itinerary, available from Feb. 28, 2021, includes the Italian destinations of Genoa, La Spezia – with excursions also departing to Florence – and Naples, as well as Valencia, Barcelona and Marseille. The second itinerary, available from May to October 2021, includes Genoa and Civitavecchia, with excursions to Rome, as well as Naples, Ibiza, Barcelona and Marseille. After October 2021, the ship will move to Asia to join her sister ship Costa Venezia, also built by Fincantieri, in the Monfalcone shipyard, and in operation since March 2019.

Meyer Turku delivers Mardi Gras

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 18 December 2020 18 December 2020

Meyer Turku, the Finnish cruise ship builder, has delivered Mardi Gras to Carnival Cruise Line, which is part of the Carnival Corporation & plc group.

The LNG powered ship of some 180,000 gross tons is the second of the type delivered by the yard and follows Costa Smeralda, which was completed for Costa Crociere, a sister brand of Carnival Cruise Line, in December last year.

The Meyer shipyard in Papenburg in Germany is also building ships based on the same platform as Mardi Gras, with AIDAnova being delivered to AIDA Cruises in Germany and Iona to P&O Cruises in the UK so far. Both are units of the Carnival group.

Mardi Gras will accommodate more than 5,200 guests and a crew of 2,000. Guests will have the choice of more than 2,600 staterooms and 180 suites across 11 categories.

“We have been working tirelessly this year to get to this exciting day to take delivery of this beautiful ship, and the team at Meyer Turku has been an outstanding partner throughout this process,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “I cannot wait for our guests and crew to see and experience Mardi Gras. Notwithstanding the delays related to the pandemic, there is tremendous enthusiasm and pent-up demand for this ship. Next we will work on the development of her sister ship, Carnival Celebration, which arrives in 2022 and has sold very well since inventory opened in October.”

“We are delivering a beautiful and highly advanced ship with world-class technology such as LNG propulsion, to name just one. With these sophisticated systems, she will be one of the most environmentally friendly ships to sail the North American waters. I am very proud of our team of shipbuilders and would like to thank everyone involved of their dedication during the building process”, CEO of Meyer Turku, Tim Meyer, states.

Unlike other ships in the Carnival Cruise Line fleet, Mardi Gras does not feature the Carnival prefix in its name. Mardi Gras is scheduled to begin 7-night cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida in April 2021.