Costa Cruises has launched two of its ships simultaneously at separate Fincantieri ship building yards in Marghera and Genova-Sestri Ponente.
Ships Costa Pacifica and Costa Luminosa will be christened in a ceremony on June 5th 2009, it was announced after the pair were floated out at the end of last month.
Both ships were launched at Fincantieri's shipyard in front of Italian minister for public administration and innovation Renato Brunetta.
When they were launched, the two selected godmothers cut the ribbons and smashed a bottle of champagne against their bows. Finally, in a traditional manner, a coin was welded to the base of the mainmast.
"This simultaneous launch is a concrete example of the entrepreneurial success of two Italian companies and also a milestone in the expansion of our fleet, which will have 17 ships by 2012," commented Pier Luigi Foschi, group chairman of
Costa Cruises.
Fincantieri chief executive officer Giuseppe Bono added that the double launch was a "remarkable" performance.
Written by Sarah Blacow