Grimaldi takes delivery of a new ship featuring environmentally friendly technologies
This is the ‘Great Egypt’ exhibition, produced in China. Meanwhile, the group is preparing for the Euromed Convention, which is due to open on 24 September in Sardinia
A new vessel for the Grimaldi Group. This is the Grande Egitto, which has just been delivered to the shipowner by China Merchants Heavy Industries Jiangsu, expanding the Neapolitan company’s fleet of pure car & truck carrier fleet of the Naples-based company: it is the 14th ammonia-ready vessel (which can therefore be converted to use ammonia as a zero-carbon alternative fuel as soon as this type of fuel becomes widely available). Together with its sister ship, the Grande Pacifico, which entered service last month, the new vessel holds the record as the largest PCTC in the Grimaldi fleet.
Meanwhile, the group is preparing for the 27th Euromed Convention From land to sea, which this year will be held in Pula, Sardinia, from 24 to 27 September. An event dedicated to promoting maritime transport and, in particular, short sea shipping, at which the company will take stock of its current industrial projects and those planned for the future.
Measuring 220 metres in length and 38 metres in width, the Grande Egitto, according to a press release, has a gross tonnage of 95,534 tonnes and a cruising speed of 18 knots. Thanks to the layout of its 15 decks, its cargo capacity reaches 9,800 ceu (car equivalent units). In addition to electric vehicles and those powered by conventional fuels, the ship is also designed to carry vehicles powered by compressed natural gas. Thanks to the numerous environmentally friendly technologies adopted on board, the ship, the press release emphasises, ‘is capable of reducing fuel consumption by 50 per cent compared with previous-generation car carriers’. The name chosen for the new car carrier, moreover, “evokes Egypt’s strategic importance for maritime links” operated by the shipping company.
“With the Grande Egitto entering service,” says Emanuele Grimaldi, the group’s CEO, “we are giving a new and significant boost to the expansion and modernisation of our fleet dedicated to vehicle transport. By choosing to deploy this vessel on the Asia–East Africa route, we aim to provide a concrete response to the demands of an increasingly dynamic market, offering our customers regular, flexible maritime connections with the lowest possible environmental impact.”
