The new Costa Cruises flagship completes its first LNG refueling in the port of Barcelona
Costa Smeralda, the new Costa Cruises flagship, has completed its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) refueling in the port of Barcelona, the company said in its press release.
The “Coral Methane” tanker ship filled Costa Smeralda's three tanks with a total of around 3,200 cubic meters of LNG. Two of these tanks measure around 35 meters in length and 8 meters in diameter, each with a capacity of 1,525 cubic meters. A third tank, measuring 5 meters in diameter, is 28 meters long and has a capacity of around 520 cubic meters. All three are built with particular steel called "cryogenic", covered with special insulating materials and installed in specific protected spaces. With one complete LNG tank filling, which will always be done in Barcelona, even once the ship has started her regoular cruises, Costa Smeralda can be powered for at least two weeks.
The use of LNG in the cruise sector is a real global innovation that ensures a low environmental impact and a significant improvement in air quality. In fact LNG allows the virtual elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions (zero emissions) and particulate matter (95-100% reduction), and also significantly reducing emissions of nitrogen oxide (direct reduction of 85%) and CO2(reduction of up to 20%).
Costa Smeralda is the first Costa Cruises ship to be fueled by LNG both in port and at sea. The Costa Group (including Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia) is the first operator ever to introduce this sustainable innovation: it has ordered a total of five new ships fueled by LNG to be delivered by 2023 and destined to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the entire fleet.
Barcelona is the first port to welcome Costa Smeralda after the ship left Meyer shipyard in Turku, where she was built. The next port of call will be Savona. On December 21, Costa Smeralda will sail from Savona on its first 1-week cruise, calling at Marseilles, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia.
