A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Mario Zanetti, General Manager of Costa Crociere, and Nicola Lanzetta, Director of Enel for Italy, to advance sustainable maritime mobility through electrification techniques.

The agreement will concentrate on the potential for supporting initiatives to reduce emissions when cruise ships arrive at and depart from ports, as well as during quayside stops, with creative solutions that offer a further opportunity to accelerate the energy transition in the cruise sector, particularly through electrification.

We are very proud of this partnership between two Italian businesses that are focused on innovation and sustainability while decreasing emissions in their respective sectors at the European and global levels.

Nicola Lanzetta, the director for Italy at Enel, stated.

The protocol specifically attempts to implement a ship refit "pilot case" that will zero out local emissions when entering, pausing, and leaving port by installing a battery power supply on the ship along with a shore-side power supply and recharging system.

The goal of the renovation is to make a Costa cruise ship emission-free from the time it docks until it departs, including the time it spends immobile on the quayside, or almost half of its operating day.

The promotion of advocacy initiatives aimed at streamlining and providing incentives for energy efficiency, electrification, and the production of renewable energy in ports, particularly in port communities located in urban environments, is another area of shared commitment that is contemplated by the protocol.

One of the tasks is the so-called "cold ironing," for which cruise ships have already begun to prepare. Currently, one-third of the Costa fleet is prepared for this activity.

The promotion of sustainable tourism is a further goal of the memorandum of understanding between Enel and Costa Crociere. This is done by creating initiatives for sustainable electric mobility in port and city areas, to progressively lower noise and atmospheric emissions from cruise-related activities like shore excursions or intermodal connections between cities and ports.