Civitavecchia News

The wreck of an ancient Roman cargo ship from more than 2,000 years ago has been found off the coast near Rome, the arts squad of Italy's Carabinieri police said on Friday. The ship was located off the port of Civitavecchia, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north-west of the Italian capital, on a sandy seabed at a depth of about 160 meters (525 ft), a statement said. The vessel, estimated to be more than 20 meters long and dating from the 1st or 2nd century BC, was carrying hundreds of amphorae -- a type of ancient Roman jar -- that were mostly found intact.

Italian authorities said on Wednesday they had impounded a ship involved in migrant rescue operations in the central Mediterranean Sea, citing safety procedure irregularities.Under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government, installed last year, Italy has taken a tougher stance towards migrant rescue NGOs, accusing them of facilitating the work of people traffickers.The Ocean Viking ship was seized while docked in the port of Civitavecchia, northwest of Rome on the Mediterranean coast."In particular, some of the crew did not possess the necessary licenses to handle the life-saving e

Italian cruise line Costa Cruises on Thursday held a christening ceremony for its new flagship, the Costa Toscana, in the port of Barcelona, Spain.The LNG-powered, Italian-flagged ship sailed away from Civitavecchia, Italy on Monday, making a stop in Naples on Thursday, before arriving in Barcelona on Thursday for the christening ceremony. The 337-meter ship is one of the largest ocean liners and can accommodate 6,554 passengers. Chanel, a Cuban-Spanish singer, dancer, and actress…

Wärtsilä and the Grimaldi Group have unveiled a system that uses exhaust gas scrubber washwater to tackle microplastics in the world’s oceans.According to the association Plastic Europe, 368 million tonnes of plastic were produced in 2019 worldwide, and around 3%, or 11.4 million tonnes, of this plastic ultimately ends up in the ocean. To tackle the growing amount of microplastics in the world’s seas, Grimaldi has developed and patented a system that filters out microplastics from open loop scrubber washwater.Wärtsilä, in partnership with the Neapolitan group, will take the microplastics filtration system - which traps plastic particles before the washwater is returned to the ocean - to market.

Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku on Thursday announced it has delivered the 180,000 GT liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered cruise ship Costa Toscana to Costa Cruises. “With Costa Toscana we are turning a new page at the shipyard. We have been pushing our shipbuilding processes onward and are now seeing the results with this beautiful vessel. We are very proud of her and I feel confident that the guests onboard will really enjoy Costa Toscana in the coming years,” said Meyer Turku CEO Tim Meyer.The 337-meter…

Carnival Corporation's Costa Cruises has taken delivery of the new cruise ship Costa Firenze designed and built by Fincantieri at its Marghera shipyard.With 135,500 gross tonnage and a capacity of more than 5,200 guests, the Costa Firenze is part of a €6 billion ($7.3 billion) development plan that includes seven new ships to be delivered for the Costa Group by 2023. Costa Firenze is the fourth of these new ships to be delivered with three more to come.“The handover of the new Costa Firenze is a sign of hope and restart for the whole cruise and tourism ecosystems.

Switzerland-based MSC Cruises announced Monday that it will resume "full-experience" cruise operations on select ships in the Mediterranean starting from mid-August.The cruise lines flagship MSC Grandiosa will sail in the West Mediterranean from August 16 and MSC Magnifica in the West Mediterranean from August 29. The ships will be the first to implement a new health and safety protocol that has been approved by the relevant national authorities along the ships’ itineraries.Pierfrancesco Vago…

A test carried out on Thursday on a passenger from Macau aboard a cruise ship in Italy proved she did not have the new coronavirus, an Italian health ministry spokesman said.The Costa Crociere company’s ship Costa Smeralda docked in Civitavecchia, north of Rome, with about 6,000 people aboard. The mayor of the town had asked authorities to prevent passengers from disembarking until it had been confirmed the virus was not present.The 54-year-old woman, who boarded the ship on January 25 in the port of Savona, had come down with a fever and flu-like symptoms.

Italian cruise line Costa Cruises said that Costa Smeralda is the first ship in the Costa fleet to be fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG). "This is a step change for the cruise industry as a whole, guaranteeing a substantially reduced environmental impact," it said."Costa Smeralda is the first ship in the Costa fleet to be powered both in port and at sea by LNG, meaning improved air quality and protecting the environment with the virtual elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions (zero emissions) and particulate matter (95-100% reduction). The use of LNG will also greatly lessen emissions of nitrogen oxides (85% direct reduction) and CO2 (reduction of up to 20%)…

Costa Smeralda will enter service in October 2019 and will be the first Costa ship fuelled by LNG, the "cleanest" fossil fuel in the world.Featuring over 2,600 staterooms, the upcoming Costa flagship will take its guests on a veritable “tour of Italy,” with lots of areas devoted to fun, flavours and festivity.Costa Cruises, the Italian brand of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest leisure travel company and cruise operator, will be awaiting the arrival of Costa Smeralda in October 2019…

Greek-Euro Towage Maritime Company (GMC), a  joint venture company operated by Italian tug owners Rimorchiatori Mediterranei, Fratelli Neri and Rimorchiatori Laziali, is set to acquire 80% of the assets and operational interests in Zouros Group.Zouros retains the remaining 20% stake, with the two companies’ fleet of tugs to be brought together under their joint operational responsibility.Rimorchiatori Riuniti is an operating holding company active in the harbor, offshore and shipping sectors, controlled by private Genoese families long active in the maritime industry.Fratelli Neri, which provides harbor towage and related maritime services…

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the third-largest cruise line in the world, controlling approximately 8.7% of the total worldwide share of the cruise market by passengers, celebrated its first season of cruises from the Netherlands, Amsterdam with the European debut of Norwegian Pearl.The international cruise liner said that with this maiden call it is growing the brand’s presence to six ships in the region for the first time.On Saturday, 8 June, Norwegian Pearl’s Captain, Paul von Knorring, and the ship’s officers were honored with a plaque and key to the city of Amsterdam from local officials from the Port of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Cruise Port and Passenger Terminal Amsterdam…

Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest luxury cruise operator, emitted nearly 10 times more sulphur oxide (SOX) around European coasts than did all  260 million European cars in 2017,  said Transport & Environment.Royal Caribbean Cruises, the world’s second largest, is second, yet four times worse than the European car fleet, revealed a new analysis by sustainable transport group.SOX emissions form sulphate (SO4) aerosols that increase human health risks and contribute to acidification in terrestrial and aquatic environments.In absolute terms, Spain, Italy and Greece, closely followed by France and Norway, are the European countries most exposed to SOX air pollution from cruise vessels while Barcelona…

Costa Smeralda will enter service in October 2019 and will be the first cruise ship for the world market fuelled by LNG, the “cleanest” fossil fuel in the world.Construction of the Costa Smeralda, the new flagship of the Costa Cruises fleet, is inching closer to completion ahead of her October delivery from Meyer Turku in Finland.The characteristic yellow funnel with the blue “C”, which has identified all the Italian company’s ships for the last 70 years, has now been installed.The funnel will not only be a symbol but is directly connected to one of the main technological innovations in the ship. Costa Smeralda will be the first cruise ship for the world market…

Carnival Corporation announced it will launch four new cruise ships in 2019 across three of its leading global brands – Carnival Cruise Line, America's Cruise Line; Costa Cruises, the largest European cruise operator; and Princess Cruises,  international premium cruise line. The world will get a preview of one of these spectacular new vessels when Carnival Cruise Line debuts a floral replica of its new Carnival Panorama sailing down Colorado Boulevard in the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day…

Nieuw Statendam, the new cruise ship of Holland America Line, was presented at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard in Venice. Holland America Line is a brand under Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise operator.The vessel is the 16th Holland America Line ship built by Fincantieri and is the line’s second Pinnacle-class ship after Koningsdam, delivered in 2016.The 99,902-ton vessel accommodates 2,666 guests and is the ultimate expression of the Holland America Line brand. The ship features purpose-built staterooms for families and solo travelers among its 1,377 guest accommodations.While much of the ship's design will be similar to Koningsdam…

The construction of the two mid-body sections will begin in 2018, while the completion of the works at Palermo shipyard is foreseen within summer 2019. The two vessels, currently in service on the daily route Civitavecchia- Porto Torres-Barcelona with the “Grimaldi Lines” livery, have been built by Fincantieri shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia and delivered to the Neapolitan group in 2007 and 2008 respectively. They are 225 meters long, having a gross tonnage of 54,000 tons and capacity of transporting about 3,000 passengers, a 2,400 square meters car deck and approx. 3,000 linear meters for heavy vehicles. About 600 additional linear meters for heavy vehicles…

Fincantieri and the Grimaldi Group have signed a letter of intent for the cruise ship lengthening and transformation program "Cruise Rome" and "Cruise Barcelona" . The construction of the sections that will be inserted in the ships will begin in 2018, while the end of the operations is expected, at the Palermo plant, by the summer of 2019. The two units, currently used on the daily route Civitavecchia-Porto Torres-Barcelona with the livery "Grimaldi Lines", were built by Fincantieri in the construction site of Castellammare di Stabia and delivered to the Neapolitan group respectively in 2007 and 2008. They are 225 meters long , have a tonnage of about 54,000 tons, and a transport capacity of about 3,000 people, with 2,400 m 2 of car deck and about 3,000 linear meters for heavy vehicles.

Lena Gercke will christen AIDAperla, the 12th member of the AIDA fleet, in Palma de Mallorca on June 30, 2017. In Germany, Gercke is among the most famous and successful models and presenters. The skyline of the old city of Palma will form the perfect backdrop when the night sky above AIDAperla is transformed into a sparkling sea of color during a spectacular music and lighting event. “With her natural charm and vitality, Lena Gercke is the ideal godmother of AIDAperla. I’m delighted that she will christen our new vessel.

AIDA Cruises has taken delivery of the 12th vessel of its fleet, AIDAperla, from Japanese shipbuilder Mitshubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The vessel was commissioned April 27 at a ceremony in Nagasaki, Japan in the presence of Michael Thamm, CEO Costa Group; Felix Eichhorn, President AIDA Cruises; Shunichi Miyanaga, President and CEO MHI; and Kazuaki Kimura, President and CEO, Industry & Infrastructure MHI. In the coming days AIDAperla will set sail for the Mediterranean where the vessel will be christened by model and presenter Lena Gercke on June 30, 2017, in Palma de Mallorca.

Today at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, MSC Cruises officially took delivery of its new flagship MSC Seaside, the second newly-built vessel to come into service for the cruise line in 2017. At the delivery ceremony, MSC Cruises and Fincantieri also signed firm orders for the construction of two Seaside EVO ships, a further evolution of the Seaside Class prototype, for a total investment of €1.8 billion. MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said, “MSC Seaside coming into service marks another key milestone in the history and future of our company…

Apostleship of Sea (AoS) port chaplain Reverend Roger Stone has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year’s Honour’s List 2018 for services to the pastoral care of seafarers. Roger has served as port chaplain for the seafarers’ charity since June 2010 and has provided pastoral, spiritual and welfare support to hundreds of crew members who arrive on ships at ports along the South Coast of England. Roger says he is truly honoured and humbled to receive the British Empire Medal from Her Majesty The Queen. He said, “I am proud to work for the Apostleship of the Sea, the greatest and most effective maritime charity in the world. I am privileged to serve so many wonderful seafarers from so many countries around the world.

International law firm Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW“) is delighted to announce that Rome corporate Counsel Francesco Maria di Majo has been appointed president of the prestigious Port Authority of Civitavecchia, Gaeta and Fiumicino (Lazio Region, Italy). The appointment was confirmed today by Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Mr Graziano Delrio, following approval from the Italian Chamber of Deputies’ Transport Commission on 15 November 2016. The Port Authority of Civitavecchia, Gaeta and Fiumicino is a key maritime hub for Rome and the central Italian regions of Campania, Umbria, Tuscany and Marche, linking them to the rest of the Mediterranean and beyond, as well as offering access to some of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations and captivating cruise routes.