The AIDAcosma, the second natural gas-powered cruise ship built for Germany’s AIDA Cruises, has completed its river transport on the Ems River.
The process is unique to ships built at the German Meyer Werft shipyard, which is located inland on the Ems River, so the vessel must make the round trip up and down the river to reach the North Sea.
The 337-meter-long AIDAcosma completed its first cruise on the Ems and arrived in Eemshaven on October 23, 2021.
Two tugs accompanied the newbuilding on its voyage from Papenburg to Eemshaven, where the vessel will undergo technical and nautical trials.
During the transfer to Ems and the subsequent technical and nautical trials in the North Sea, some 1,400 people have been on board, according to Meyer Werft.
It is a sister ship to the AIDAnova, the company’s first low-emission LNG-powered cruise ship, which was commissioned in 2018.
LNG is one of several solutions that will help the company decarbonize its fleet and operations in the future. Recently, AIDA Cruises, part of Carnival Corp, unveiled plans to have a carbon-neutral fleet by 2040, ten years ahead of climate targets set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
