It was carried out at the port of La Spezia and ended at 6 p.m. On Sunday, the operation was sponsored by the Italian Coast Guard, the Port Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea, local authorities and Shell, the Costa Group's LNG supplier partner, and Carnival Corporation, its parent company.

The activity took place with the vessel at Molo Garibaldi pier, where the Coral Methane bunkering vessel was located alongside the Costa Smeralda, under the command of the Italian Coast Guard and in cooperation with the Costa Smeralda and Coral Methane crews and all parties involved.

“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. Carnival Corporation and Costa were the first cruise operator to invest in sustainable innovation with LNG-powered ship technology and we continue to be committed to ensuring the highest environmental standards for a more sustainable future of cruising," said Franco Porcellacchia, vice president of sustainable innovation and infrastructure development for Costa Group.

Costa Smeralda is the first LNG-powered vessel in the fleet of Costa Cruises, followed by Costa Toscana, the LNG-powered sister vessel scheduled for delivery in late 2021. Since 2018, another LNG ship, AIDAnova of AIDA Cruises, has been operating within the fleet of the Costa Group and will be accompanied by two other sister vessels by 2023.

A third LNG-powered ship, P&O Cruises UK's Iona, was recently delivered as part of the overall Carnival Corporation fleet.

Maritime Business World