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24 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News While cruise ship construction has been suppressed since 9/11, Italy's Fincantieri has enjoyed an impressive year with a diversity of new contracts, including some landmark deals which could signal renewed vigor in cruise ship construction. Late last year the company delivered Costa Magica, the eleventh flagship in Costa Crociere's fleet, from its shipyard in Sestri Ponente (Genoa). At the same time, Pier Luigi Foschi, CEO of Costa Crociere, announced the name of the next Costa Crociere ship, the fleet's twelfth, currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri P. To be delivered by the summer of 2006, the 112,000-grt Costa Concordia will be the biggest passenger cruise ship in Italian history. The €€ 450 million ship will measure 951 ft. (290 m) long and have a maximum capacity of 3,800 guests. In the surest sign that confidence is returning to the sector, in early January 2005 the two companies announced a doubling of the order for the 112,000- ton ship, revealing plans to build anoth- er yet-to-be-named ship of the same size and class for an investment of €€ 475 mil- lion , to be delivered in the spring of 2007. "This new order," said Foschi, "will allow us to maintain a firm grip on our "core business" more than compen- sating for the transfer of the Costa Tropicale. In fact, since this order involves a ship that is even bigger and more modern than the Costa Tropicale, our fleet's capacity will increase, thus confirming our company's optimistic growth prospects for the next few years, and encouraged by the increasingly greater success of the Costa product." The Costa Concordia and its future sis- ter ship offer more than 60 percent of the cabins with a private balcony or win- dow. The two new ships will be built to operate in the Mediterranean year round, and thus all their various characteristics will be designed for winter vacations. Such features include greater tonnage and stability to ensure sailing in the Mediterranean even in the winter, an enormous 1,900 sq. m. wellness area, extending over two decks, one of the largest ever on any cruise ship, and the possibility of covering two of the four swimming pools so that they can be used throughout the year, regardless of the weather conditions. The new Concordia Class ship ordered from Fincantieri brings the total number of vessels under construction for Costa Crociere SpA to 4: 2 ships ordered from Fincantieri for Costa Crociere along with 2 for AIDA Cruises, the cruise sec- tor leader in Germany that became part of Costa Crociere SpA as of November 1, 2004. "The new order for Costa Crociere comes right on the heels of and empha- sises the importance of the agreement reached in September between Fincantieri and Carnival for the con- struction of four new ships together with the redesign, on a larger scale, of a fifth vessel that had been previously commis- sioned, further exemplifying the prefer- ential relationship between the two com- panies foreseen by the agreement" said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri. The agreement calls for the construc- tion of a 110,000 gt "Conquest class" ship at Sestri Ponente shipyard for Carnival Cruise Lines and of a 116,000 gt "Caribbean Princess" class ship at Monfalcone shipyard for Princess Cruises. Both ships are expected to be delivered in Spring 2007. A further two ships with the same characteristics will be built for Carnival's European brands at the same shipyards with delivery in Spring 2008. The agreement also comprises the redesigning of the "Queen Victoria" which will be built in Marghera for Cunard Line; the ship will be lengthened by 11 metres compared to the original design and its tonnage increased to 90,000 gt. The ship, which will be deliv- ered in Summer 2007, will incorporate the style and characteristics of the com- pany's larger vessels. The cooperation also calls for the development of the "Pinnacle project" a 180,000 gt prototype ship which would make it the largest passenger ship ever built in the world. 2004: A Good Year Despite some relatively dour world- wide economic indicators and the con- flict in the Middle East, Fincantieri was able to show strong six month results when it reported its financials last year. The company seeming has succeeded in exploiting the opportunities available, as results for the group on June 30, 2004 showed a net profit of €€ 49.4 million compared to €€ 41.4 million for the same period the previous year (+19.3%). Cruise Shipping Fincantieri Solidifies Business with Diversity In the Background: Fincantieri has built and maintained a cozy relationship with Carnival Corp., building for, among others, a number of ships for the company’s Costa Crociere unit. MR MARCH 2005 #3 (17-24).qxd 3/2/2005 4:22 PM Page 8
