Costa Smeralda Refueled with LNG in Barcelona for 1st Time

Costa Smeralda, a recently completed cruise vessel owned by Italian cruise line Costa Cruises, has made its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) refueling in the port Barcelona. 

Barcelona was the first port to welcome Costa Smeralda after the newbuild left Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland on December 6.

During the operation, the Coral Methane tanker ship filled Costa Smeralda’s three tanks with a total of around 3,200 cubic meters of LNG.

Two of these tanks have a capacity of 1,525 cubic meters, while the third tank has a capacity of around 520 cubic meters.

With one complete LNG tank filling, which will always be done in Barcelona, even once the ship has started its regular cruises, Costa Smeralda can be powered for at least two weeks, according to the cruise company.

The 180,000 GT Costa Smeralda is the first Costa Cruises’ ship to be fueled by LNG both in port and at sea. In addition, it is the second ship in the world, after AIDAnova, to use this marine fuel.

The Costa Group — including Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia — has ordered a total of five new ships fueled by LNG to be delivered by 2023 in an effort to reduce its environmental footprint.