AIDAnova crew undergoes training onboard LNG-fueled Wes Amelie

Carnival Maritime, a marine service unit of the Costa Group cooperated with Wessels Reederei to provide training to the captains of AIDA Cruises’ LNG-fueled cruise ship, AIDAnova. 

Under the cooperation, captains and officers have started practical training sessions at sea in June with Wessels Reederei providing its LNG-powered containership Wes Amelie for training purposes.

The 30-day on-board training sessions on the WES Amelie enable AIDA’s captains and officers to experience at first hand what it is like to control an LNG-powered vessel under real operating conditions, Carnival Maritime said in a statement.

As well as the training courses, Carnival Maritime has a cooperation with LNG supplier Shell. Officers will also undergo LNG management level training at the Center for Simulator Maritime Training (CSMART) in Almere in the Netherlands.

In the next five years, the Costa Group plans to commission five LNG cruise ships, and Carnival Maritime will be providing the relevant training courses for the crews.

The AIDAnova will have over 2,600 passenger cabins, with a gross tonnage of over 180,000, a length of 337 meters and a width of 42 meters.

It is currently under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg and is scheduled to pass the river Ems to the North Sea at the end of September.