Handover Of Costa Firenze, The Ship Inspired By The Beauty Of The Renaissance

GENOA and TRIESTE, Italy, Dec. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa Cruises, a part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), officially took delivery of the new Costa Firenze ship from Fincantieri, designed and built in the Marghera shipyard and inspired by the Florentine Renaissance. The event has taken place in full digital mode today.

With 135,500 gross tonnage 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.

Costa Group is the leading cruise company in Europe and China, with headquarters in Genoa. The 28 ships of its fleet, belonging to Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia brands, have a total capacity of more than 93,000 total passengers. The fleet will grow further with the arrival of three new ships by 2023. The company has over 30,000 employees, working on board the ships and in 20 offices in 14 countries. The Costa Group is part of Carnival Corporation & plc, which is one of the world's largest leisure travel companies, with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise lines.   

Fincantieri is one of the world's largest shipbuilding groups and number one for diversification and innovation. It is leader in cruise ship design and construction and a reference player in all high-tech shipbuilding industry sectors, from naval to offshore vessels, from high-complexity special vessels and ferries to mega yachts, as well as in ship repairs and conversions, production of systems and mechanical and electrical component equipment, cruise ship interiors solutions, electronic systems and software, infrastructures and maritime constructions as well as after-sales services. With over 230 years of history and more than 7,000 vessels built, Fincantieri has always kept its management offices, as well as all its distinctive engineering and production skills, in Italy. With over 9,500 employees and a supplier network that employs nearly 50,000 people in Italy alone, Fincantieri has enhanced a fragmented production capacity over several shipyards into a strength, acquiring the widest portfolio of clients and products in the cruise business. To hold its own in relation to competition and assert itself at global level, Fincantieri has broadened its product portfolio becoming world leader in the sectors in which it operates.

The Group now has 18 shipyards operating in four continents, nearly 20,000 employees, and is the leading Western shipbuilder; its clients include the world's biggest cruise operators and the Italian and the US Navy as well as numerous foreign navies. Fincantieri is also a partner of some of the main European defence companies within supranational programs.

Fincantieri's business is widely diversified by end markets, geographical exposure and by client base, with revenue generated from cruise ship, naval vessel, Offshore and Specialized Vessel construction and from the supply of solutions for electronic systems and software and for maritime infrastructure and works. Compared with less diversified players, such diversification allows it to mitigate the effects of any fluctuations in demand on the end markets served.

www.fincantieri.com

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SOURCE Costa Cruises