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Agreement between San Giorgio del Porto and Costa Crociere: a center of excellence for ship repair and conversion in Marseille
Costa Crociere and San Giorgiodel Porto sign a strategic partnership for the expansion of Chantier Naval deMarseille, a subsidiary of San Giorgio del Porto.
Planned investments andcompetitive growth.
Marseille, August 2, 2016– San Giorgio del Porto and Costa Crociere havesigned an agreement for the developmentof a world-class center for ship repair and conversion. The agreement,announced today, provides for the entryof Costa Crociere with a 33.3% share in Chantier Naval de Marseille, companyspecialized in ship repair and conversion based in Marseille and controlled bythe Genoese San Giorgio del Porto.
The agreement between San Giorgio del Porto and Costa Crociere for thestrengthening of Chantier Naval de Marseille calls for an initial investment of 10 million Euros aimed at increasing theefficiency of the shipyard with the best available technologies. Theinvestment will generate volumes and a scale that will allow the entire shipping industry to take advantageof the facilities for any type of vessel and maximize the potential of thebasin n.10 able to accommodate big ships. The investment will also create apositive impact in terms of direct and indirect employment.
San Giorgio del Porto, part of the holding Genova Industrie Navali, is aleading company in Europe and a global point of reference for ship repair andconversion, as well as for ship dismantling/recycling, and new constructionprojects.
The investment represents for Costa Crociere a further step towards amore advanced technical management of the Group's fleet. In this respect, asignificant expansion is planned due to the delivery of seven new ships (threefor the German AIDA Cruises brand, two for the Italian Costa Crociere and twofor Costa Asia) that will bring the fleet to a total of about 110,000 beds.
In particular, four newships will be powered by LNG, thus being the first in the world to use thisinnovative propulsion technology in the cruise industry that neutralizes thenegative effects of emissions. Costa, who is a pioneer in reducing emissionswith investments already made and planned to equip existing ships withreduction systems for exhausted gas, completes its commitment to sustainabilityand respect for the environment.
"The Italian ship repairindustry is an excellence that San Giorgio del Porto has also exported to Marseilles,where the infrastructural features of the port allow for a business expansionto new market segments. With the establishment of Chantier Naval de Marseillein recent years, we have laid the foundation to create a center thatspecializes in ship transformation and repair. The new partnership with a majorplayer such as Costa Crociere strengthens this project and enablesthe creationof a truly world-class ship repair and conversion pole, aglobal point ofreference open to all
ship-owners and all market segments", said Ferdinando Garrè, San Giorgio delPorto CEO.
"Costa Group is the leader in the European market and is pursuing astrategy based on innovation to be the forward-thinking company of theindustry. This strategic partnership, the very first of this kind for the CostaGroup, represents a milestone for our future operations and will ensure best inclassmanagement of all the necessary maintenance activities on our ships, includingthe next generation ships that we will receive in the next few years.Iam sure that this partnership will bring a great
added-value to both Companies and new opportunities to build aninnovative and efficient shipyard", stated Mr. Michael Thamm, Costa Crociere CEO.
The port of Marseille, the largest in France, is at the forefront of theshipbuilding industry thanks to its infrastructural features, which allow the handlingof large vessels. Chantier Naval de Marseille operates three dry docks, includingdockn.10, the biggest graving dock in the Mediterranean seawith dimensions of465 by 85 meters.
Chantier Naval de Marseille was founded by San Giorgio del Porto in 2010and employs about 120 people, including naval architects, mechanical engineersand specialized technicians. The shipyard is located in a strategic position, atthe center of a large traffic zone extending from Genoa to Barcelona.
Marseille also represents an important reality for the cruise industry andCosta has been among the first to choose it as a destination of its routes inthe Mediterranean. Thanks to the full cooperation with the Port Authority -Grand Port Maritime de Marseille, Costa has realized a passenger terminal,whichhas grown over the years and now aims to exceed 2 million passengers.
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San Giorgio del Porto
Founded in 1928, San Giorgio del Portois a leading company in Europe anda global point of reference for ship repair and conversion, as well as ship dismantling/recycling,and for new construction projects.Since 2008, San Giorgio del Porto is part ofthe holding Genova Industrie Navali (GIN), formed with another historic Genoeseshipyard: T. Mariotti. In 2010,
San Giorgio del Porto established Chantier Naval de Marseille, whichspecializes in ship repairs and conversions. Today,San Giorgio del Porto is theonly Italian company listed in the Registerof Environmental Ship Reclamation & Recycling Facilitiesand able to carry out green ship recycling projects.Specifically, San Giorgio del Porto is carrying out the Concordiadismantlingand recycling project, and is working to create a ship dismantling pole inPiombino.
Genova Industrie Navali is one of the most important players in theshipbuilding and ship repair industry in the Mediterranean and is the secondplayer in the industry in Italy. The Group has major assets in the ports ofGenoa (in the ship repairs area, which covers a total area of about 53,000square meters with 5 dry docks) and Marseille (3 dry docks including basin n.10,the largest in the Mediterranean), and is completing the process for the concessionof the port areas of Piombino (approximately 80,000 square meters).
Costa Group
The Costa Group is the leading cruise company in Europe. The 26 ships ofthe brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia together have a totalcapacity of 72,000 beds. The fleet will be further strengthened by 7 newvessels by 2020. The company has a global workforce of 27,000 employees workingonboard and in its 20 offices in 14 countries.
San Giorgio del Porto Press Office
PaoloTrombetta p.trombetta@sgdp.it – +39 344 0469234
APCO Worldwide
RossellaCarrara rcarrara@apcoworldwide.com –+39 349 7668005
LeaRicciardi lricciardi@apcoworldwide.com –+39 335 6672892
Costa Crociere Press Office
Tel. 010 5483523 / 0105483068 - costapressoffice@costa.it
Gabriele Baroni –Communication Director – Cell 3497668013 - baroni@costa.it
Davide Barbano – MediaRelations Manager – cell. +39 3346525216 - barbano@costa.it
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