Greener Future for Costa Cruises

Costa Cruises is taking part in the REPCET (Real Time Plotting of Cetaceans) project to help conserve the marine environment and demonstrate its devotion to sustainable tourism.

Last month, Costa Pacifica became one of the first cruise ships in the world to take part in the REPCET project, a reporting system promoted by WWF Italy that aims to reduce collisions between ship and whales while tracking their movements. By collaborating with JRC (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission), Costa Pacifica will be the location of a new series of important atmospheric measurements for monitoring climate change in the Mediterranean.

While operating in accordance with the prevailing laws, Costa Cruises also seeks to preempt new legislation in various terms, including management of shipboard waste, water discharge, energy and fuel consumption.

Shipboard Waste Management

Shipboard waste management is one of Costa Cruises’ top environmental priorities. Sorting for recycling is applied to 100% of solid waste on board Costa Cruises ships, and a ban is in place to control overboard discharge of any solid waste except food waste. When it comes to daily amenities prepared for onboard guests, a number of practices have been deployed such as using plates and cups made of biodegradable material.

Water Discharge

In terms of waste water, Costa’s policy is considerably more restrictive than the relevant legislative regulations in force. For instance, Costa Cruises does not permit disposal of untreated sewage at sea and only allows treated sewage to be discharged at a distance greater than 12 miles from the nearest land whilst international maritime legislation requires only three miles from the nearest land for the discharge of treated sewage.

Energy and Fuel Consumption

 Costa Cruises achieved a 5% reduction in fuel consumption per mile traveled; a 5% reduction in consumption of potable water per person; 30% of special waste recycled, and an 8.5% reduction in the quantity of garbage.

Costa Deliziosa is equipped for “cold ironing”, namely a system whereby the ship is plugged into shoreside electrical power, enabling generators to be shut down during stopovers in port. This is a way of further reducing the environmental impact of liners when they call at ports. Joining Costa Deliziosa in the “cold ironing” green attempts are Costa Luminosa and the brand new Costa Favolosa scheduled for launch in July 2011.

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