Italy has clocked up its first LNG bunkering with an operation to supply a Costa Cruises vessel in the port of La Spezia.
The 183,900-gt newbuilding Costa Smeralda berthed at the port’s Molo Garibaldi pier and was supplied with bunkers in a bow-to-bow operation by the Shell-chartered, 7,500-cbm bunker vessel Coral Methane (built 2009).
The bunkering operation took place under the supervision of the Italian Coast Guard and was supported by the Port Authority of Eastern Ligurian Sea, local authorities, Carnival Corp's Costa Group and its LNG supplier partner Shell.
"A very important milestone was reached for the first time in our country," Port Authority of Eastern Ligurian Sea president Carla Roncallo said.
The Costa Smeralda only returned to service this month as the company began slowly resuming cruises following their suspension during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The LNG-fuelled ship will call at the Italian towns of Savona, La Spezia and Cagliari, followed by Naples, Messina and Civitavecchia in a series of five planned cruises.
Costa Group vice president of sustainable innovation and infrastructure development Franco Porcellacchia reminded that parent Carnival Corp and Costa were the first cruise operator to invest in LNG fuelling.
"As part of our deep commitment to sustainability, we are proud to have our LNG-powered flagship Costa Smeralda mark this milestone for Italy and the port of La Spezia,” he said.
Costa Group — made up of Costa Cruises, Germany-based AIDA Cruises and Costa China — said this was its 50th LNG bunkering operation.
Costa Smeralda was also involved in a ship-to-ship LNG bunkering first for France in May.
Carnival senior vice president Tom Strang said: "We are at the forefront of advancing LNG as a fuel source for the cruise industry and we are working to build an extensive, safe and reliable LNG infrastructure for cruiseships around the globe."
La Spezia Coast Guard captain Giovanni Stella said the bunkering operation was a positive experience.
"We believe that other maritime authorities can implement the regulation we have defined in order to increase the LNG distribution infrastructure in Italian ports, as indicated by the Italian and European regulations," he said.
Costa Smeralda is the first LNG-fuelled ship in the Costa Cruises fleet. A sistership newbuilding Costa Toscana is scheduled to be delivered in late 2021.
AIDA Cruises has been operating the 183,000-gt LNG-fuelled cruiseship AIDAnova (built 2018), since its delivery. Two sister vessels will join it by 2023.
Carnival company P&O Cruises recently took delivery of the 184,700-gt cruiseship newbuilding Iona which will be fuelled with LNG.
