13 November, 2016 by Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo

On Board the Italian Ship “Costa Magica”

There is a little-known task that occurs every time an Italian ship docks at a Spanish port and needs to verify the embarkation and/or disembarkation of crew members. Italian law requires the presence of the accredited consul to verify the movements with their certificates and entries in the personnel registration books of each ship. We had the opportunity to witness this while attending an invitation from our esteemed friend and colleague Silvio Pelizzolo, the consul of Italy in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, aboard the cruise ship “Costa Magica,” owned by Costa Crociere, one of the shipping companies that are part of the Carnival Group.

On this occasion, we greeted Captain Giovanni Cosino and Third Officer María Elena Gambino, who is responsible for these matters on board. The ship's officers consist of a staff captain, two first officers, two second officers, and three third officers. The paperwork we saw reminded us of the years of intense emigration from the Canary Islands to Venezuela, where the shipping agencies managed the boarding procedures for passengers at the consulate that was then located on Calle del Pilar, opposite the office of La Roche, representative of Compañía Trasatlántica Española.

Captain Cosino flanked by the consuls of Italy in Tenerife and Finland in the Canary Islands

The consul of Italy supervises the documentation presented by Officer Gambino

It has been twelve years since the “Costa Magica” was put into service, which is a sister ship of the “Costa Fortuna” and part of the same project as two others called “Carnival Triumph” and “Carnival Victory.” Construction number 6,087 from the Fincantieri shipyard, Sestri Ponente, Genoa, it entered service in November 2004 and is a well-known vessel at the port of Tenerife. On the stopover on Friday, November 11, there were 2,717 passengers and 934 crew members on board.

Weighing 105,000 gross tons, it measures 272 m in overall length, 35.50 m in beam, and 8.20 m in draft. It is powered by six Sulzer engines – four of the 16ZAV40S model and two of the 12ZAV40S model – which together provide a power of 62,900 kW coupled to two reducers and an equal number of shafts and variable pitch propellers, allowing it to maintain a speed of 20 knots. It can accommodate a maximum of 3,470 passengers. IMO Code 9239795.