06 February 2009

Costa upgrades its environmental credentials

Italy’s Costa Cruises is continuing to invest in the quality and sustainability of its fleet.

In the space of three months, five Costa ships have been dry-docked for scheduled maintenance.

Costa has invested around 22 million euros in this planned maintenance work.

Operations were carried out on the Costa Serena, the Costa Europa, the Costa Atlantica (in Palermo), the Costa Romantica (in Genoa) and the Costa Concordia (in Trieste) from the end of October 2008 to the end of January 2009.

The flagship Costa Serena was the last Costa ship to be dry-docked in Fincantieri’s Palermo shipyard.

Two of the key improvements being made on the Costa Serena are specific shipboard energy and fuel-saving measures.

One involves the installation of special air conditioning regulators, a system already in use on the Costa Fortuna.

These devices are designed to increase the efficiency of the air conditioning system in public areas: the airflow adjusts automatically according to the number of people in the room and based on the outside temperature.

The other operation involves the application of a special ecological silicone-based coating that inhibits the growth of microorganisms on the hull’s surface without releasing toxic substances into the sea, thereby enhancing hydrodynamic performance while reducing environmental impact thanks to the subsequent decrease in fuel consumption.