Costa commits billions to fleet expansion
Ferry Online Travel News 23/03/2009
Costa Cruises has announced it will spend €2.4 billion in a three-year fleet expansion programme.
The cruise line has five new vessels on order, representing an increase in fleet capacity of 50 per cent. With these new ships, the fleet will comprise 17 vessels by 2012, having a combined capacity of 46,400 passengers.
Costa’s announcement was made during the ‘technical launch’ of Costa Deliziosa, as the dry dock was flooded at the Fincantieri ship yard in Italy, where the new flagship is under construction.
Costa Deliziosa, with a passenger capacity of 2,828, will be the fleet’s 15th ship, and is due to be delivered in January of 2010.
The new cruise ship will be the third delivered by Fincantieri to Costa in less than a year. Costa Luminosa is scheduled for delivery at the end of April, and Costa Pacifica is due one month later. Both new cruise ships will be christened in a joint ceremony on 5 June in Genoa.
Gianni Onorato, the president of Costa Cruises, said: “The launching of Costa Deliziosa is real proof of the soundness of our company. Despite the current difficulties in the tourism sector and overall economy, we are continuing the expansion plan of our fleet - with five new ships this is the world’s largest - for a total investment of €2.4 billion.”
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