Agreement - Costa Cruises and Mercy Ships

Genoa - Mercy Ships and the Costa Group formalized the official implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed in recent months. The agreement is the starting point for developing a series of synergies in various sectors, with the aim of supporting the programmes put in place by the charity Mercy Ships. Under the agreement, the Costa Group will develop specific programmes in the following areas: promotion of the charity’s humanitarian activities to passengers on board the 26 ships in the Costa fleet (Costa Cruises, Costa Asia, AIDA Cruises); creation of a volunteer programme for Costa and AIDA staff and crew with Mercy Ships; a further programme will offer the all-volunteer officers and engineers of Mercy Ships the opportunity to gain seagoing experience aboard Costa Group ships. At the presentation of the agreement, which was held today in Madrid, an important announcement was made: besides a commitment to cooperating on long-term programmes, the Costa Group presented an immediate donation of €100,000 to support the charity’s mission to bring hope and assistance to people in need, by providing health care in developing countries. The humanitarian organization Mercy Ships operates the hospital ship Africa Mercy, which is currently based in Cotonou, Benin, West Africa, thanks to an all-volunteer medical team and crew who hail from over 40 countries. Launched in 2007, and designed specifically for Mercy Ships, Africa Mercy is the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world.