The
first block of the hull was laid today at Fincantieri’s Marghera,
Italy, shipyard forming the central part of Costa Diadema, the future
flagship of Costa
Cruises. Diadema
in Italian means “tiara” and the name was selected for the new
ship that will serve as the crown jewel and flagship of the Costa
Cruises fleet.
Today’s
ceremony was attended by Costa Crociere S.p.A. Chief Executive
Officer Michael Thamm and President Gianni Onorato, with Fincantieri
represented by its Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Bono.
During
the ceremony, the block — weighing approximately 496 tons,
measuring 51.5 feet wide by 95 feet long — was lifted by a crane
and laid in the dry dock where the ship will be built.
Construction
and fitting out will continue until Oct. 30, 2014, the scheduled date
of delivery. Construction of Costa Diadema will employ approximately
1,000 shipyard workers plus another 2,500 employees of allied
industries. About 400 contracted suppliers, most of which are Italian
firms, will be involved in the project, especially regarding fitting
out the ship’s interiors.
“The
construction of the Costa Diadema is a tangible commitment to the
future growth of our company,” said Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa
Crociere S.p.A. “It is significant not only for us but also for
Italy in general and Venice in particular. The Costa Diadema
consolidates our alliance with Fincantieri, which has already
resulted in the building of 10 new ships for us since 2000, worth a
total of almost 5 billion euros.”
“The
end of year is approaching and it’s time for us to take stock. 2012
has been an extremely difficult year, especially for shipbuilding,”
said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri. “Today, as we start work on
what will be another splendid ship for our friends at Costa, we’re
looking to the future with a bit more certainty.”
Costa
will invest around 550 million euros in the new flagship. Costa
Diadema will be the largest cruise ship flying the Italian flag, at
132,500 gross tons, 1, 004
feet long,
122 feet in the beam, carrying 4,947 total guests and 1,253
crewmembers, with 1,854 guest cabins.
Source:
Costa
