Work has begun at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard on the construction in the dry-dock of the Costa Diadema, the future flagship of Costa Cruises and of the Italian-flagged passenger fleet.  Today’s ceremony marking the occasion was attended by Costa Crociere S.p.A. CEO Michael Thamm and President Gianni Onorato, while Fincantieri was represented by its CEO Giuseppe Bono.

Costa Crociere S.p.A. CEO Michael Thamm commented:  “The construction of the Costa Diadema is a tangible commitment to the future growth of our Company.  It is significant not only for us but also for Italy in general and Venice in particular.  The Costa Diadema consolidates our alliance with Fincantieri, which has already resulted in the building of 10 new ships for us since 2000, worth a total of almost 5 billion euros with the creation of wealth and employment for the country as a whole.”

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: "The end of year is approaching and it's time for us to take stock. 2012 has been an extremely difficult year, especially for shipbuilding. Total global investments have been little more than a quarter of those in 2007, resulting in a halving of the number of cruise ship orders,” he said in a statement.

“We’ve done our part, by securing almost all of these orders and confirming the dual challenge we set ourselves: on the one hand, to focus on sectors that offer good opportunities for development, and on the other, to maintain our leadership in our traditional sectors. Today, as we start work on what will be another splendid ship for our friends at Costa, we’re looking to the future with a bit more certainty."