The Administration of the Ports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (APRAM, SA), together with AIDA Cruises, carried out a tree-planting initiative this Monday at the Funchal Ecological Park.
The initiative, aligned with the environmental sustainability policy of the Ports of Madeira, was conducted in collaboration with the Municipality of Funchal, the company’s shipping agent, Blandy Shipping, and included crew members from the cruise ship AIDAcosma, among them the captain, Vincent Cofalka, as well as a group of guests. The Department of Resource and Environmental Management from Madeira Ports also participated in the initiative.
“We take our commitment to the environment, sustainability, and social responsibility very seriously, and this activity is yet another concrete action reflecting these values,” explained Patrícia Bairrada, Commercial and Public Relations Director of the Ports of Madeira. She highlighted that this is the second time AIDA Cruises has taken part in a tree-planting initiative in Funchal.
“The AIDAcosma crew was the first to participate in these initiatives, and now, to mark the ship’s final call of the season, they returned to the Ecological Park with a group of passengers to reinforce the area where they had already planted some species last year,” she noted, adding that other cruise lines have also shown interest in joining these initiatives.
AIDA Cruises has been actively involved with “great satisfaction.” “We are committed to the local communities we visit season after season, and these environmental actions are a way to strengthen that bond while contributing to environmental sustainability,” said Captain Vincent Cofalka.
In total, around twenty trees were planted in an area marked with an identification plaque of the German cruise ship.
This Monday, AIDAcosma made its final call of the cruise season in Madeira, bringing 5,819 passengers and 1,427 crew members to the region. During this season, from November to March, the ship completed 20 calls in Funchal and will now reposition to the Mediterranean.
