The RINA “Green Star” award guarantees that the ships are not harmful to the environment and that they contribute to keeping the air and the sea clean. After ISO 14001 certification another important environmental award for the leading cruise company in Europe.

Miami, 15 March 2005 – RINA, the Italian Shipping Register, assigns “Green Star” voluntary certification to the Costa Cruises fleet. The certification was awarded at the 21st “Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention” in Miami, a convention that each year brings together the international major players in the cruise industry.

By awarding the “Green Star” RINA certifies that Costa ships do not damage the environment and that they contribute to keeping the air and the sea clean. “Green Star” certification in fact means that Costa ships comply with the highest standards in environmental protection for prevention against the pollution of the air and the sea, going beyond that required by the international MARPOL standards in use. These standards assign ships a series of technical and managerial requisites that contribute to the safeguarding of the environment. The special “Green Star design” however, is only given to ships that, from the very first planning stage, are designed to guarantee maximum respect for the environment. Two ships in the Costa fleet, the Costa Atlantica and Costa Mediterranea, were awarded the special “Green Star Design” in 2000 and 2003 respectively, upon their delivery to Costa by Kvaerner Masa Yards, the Finnish shipyard that built them.

 “We are very proud to have received the RINA Green Star for all 11 ships in our fleet,” commented Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman and Managing Director of Costa Cruises, “Today's award is further proof that our commitment to environmental issues is producing concrete and highly positive results. Costa has followed a voluntary environmental protection policy for several years and we are now the first cruise line company in the world with a fleet that can guarantee its guests respect and protection of the air and sea in which we operate. I believe that all cruise companies have a duty towards protecting the environment. I would therefore like to thank all Costa staff for their unflagging commitment, and the RINA for their highly-valued recognition.”

 « Costa Cruises' achievement is the result of an environmental culture that continues to grow within a responsible industry. We are very pleased that the technical and operational experience of the RINA, based on targeted research and commitment to environmental sustainability, responds to the innovation requirements of the cruise industry. We are talking about a process that began over 5 years ago with the Costa Atlantica and which has been pursued with great determination ever since by the RINA in collaboration with the shipping industry, » points out Ugo Salerno, Managing Director of RINA SpA.

Costa Cruises is committed to the continued improvement of environmental management and respect for the legislation and regulations in force. As well as the “Green Star”, back in May the RINA also awarded the company “BEST4” status, a system of voluntary certification attesting to the best international standards in terms of social accountability (SA 8000 of 2001), the environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 1996), safety (OHSAS 18001, 1999), and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2000). Furthermore, as a means to best manage the various environmental issues, in 2002 Costa Cruises established the Environmental Compliance Division to oversee environmental protection and compliance with related international legislation, appointing an official on board each ship specifically to help in this task. Costa Cruises' environmental protection programme is outlined in its Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP), a manual that integrates perfectly with the safety management and pollution prevention system.

Awarding of the “Green Star” and “Green Star Design” to the Costa Cruises fleet: