Bridge Installed on Costa Concordia

Work is proceeding apace at Fincantieri's Genoa Sestri Ponente shipyard on the construction of Costa Crociere's new flagship Costa Concordia, which will be Italy's largest cruise ship when she enters into service in July 2006. The latest news was announced with the assemblage on board of a block of the ship - 17 metres long by 43 metres wide by 8.5 metres high and weighing in at 190 tonnes – that included the whole bridge. Given the substantial size of the relevant building block the operation took about 2 hours. The bridge was lifted off the ground to a height of around 30 metres by a powerful crane, which then positioned it in the forebody of the vessel. The Costa Concordia is readying herself for her launching, scheduled for the end of this summer, when the building graving-dock where work is in progress will be filled with water enabling the new flagship to take to the sea for the first time. This will be followed by fitting-out of the vessel’s interior, which should take about another 10 months. Built to operate all year round in the Mediterranean, the ship will feature a series of facilities making her ideal for a winter holiday; highlights include two (of the four) swimming pools with retractable roofs, and a 1900 m2 wellness area extending over two decks. Meanwhile, also at Sestri Ponente the Costa Concordia’s sister ship, whose name has not yet been announced, is already in the pipeline and due for delivery in May 2007. In all, the vessels commissioned by Costa from Fincantieri between 2000 and 2004 entail a total investment of almost 2 billion euros. In addition to the Costa Concordia and her sister ship, Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente shipyard also built Costa’s current flagships, Costa Fortuna and Costa Magica, which entered into service in November 2003 and November 2004, respectively. Prior to that, Fincantieri’s yard in Marghera constructed two more sister ships in the Costa fleet: the Costa Classica in 1991 and Costa Romantica in 1993.