Costa signs LOI for new flagship

Genoa-based Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corporation, has signed a letter of intent with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to construct a 112,000 gt cruise ship for delivery in summer 2006. To be built at the Sestri Ponente shipyard, the new vessel will have an all-in cost of approximately $548 million.

The as-yet unnamed ship, will have a length of 290 metres, 1,502 staterooms with a total passenger capacity of 3,800 and will be the largest passenger ship in the history of Italian merchant navy. It will eclipse the Costa Fortuna, the present flagship of the fleet which entered into service in November last year and the Costa Magica, a sistership currently under construction at the Sestri Ponente yard and scheduled for delivery in November this year.

When completed, the new flagship is expected to be deployed in the Mediterranean all year-round and will be fitted with two 21MW Wartsila Sulzer diesel engines.

As an all-new class of vessel for the line, it will offer innovative amenities and facilities including a wide range of formal and casual dining venues and state-of-the-art telecommunications capabilities that will enable guests to use their cell phones while at sea. The newbuilding will also have one of the largest health and wellness centers at sea and four swimming pools, two of which will feature retractable domes.

Sixty-one percent of the ship’s staterooms will feature an ocean view with 62 percent of those offering private balconies. “Costa is the largest cruise operator in Europe, an area which is very important to the strategic growth of our company,” said Carnival?s chairman and ceo Micky Arison. “This new class will enable Carnival Corporation to further its leadership position in this fast-growing market.” “At approximately 150,000 euros ($182,600 per lower berth, this new vessel was very attractively priced for Costa,” he added.

The newbuilding will be the fifth Costa cruise ship to be constructed at Fincantieri and continues a 14-year relationship with the shipbuilder.