Grimaldi orders RO/RO multipurpose sextet at Hyundai Mipo
Written by Nick Blenkey
Gianluca Grimaldi, President of Grimaldi Group SpA, says company continues on path that aims at operating on all its main routes with an increasingly young, modern and eco-sustainable fleet.
Naples, Italy, headquartered Grimaldi Group has signed a $600 million agreement with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard covering the construction of six new RO/RO multipurpose vessels.
With a length of 250 meters, a beam of 38 meters and a deadweight of 45.684 tonnes, the ships will be the first in a new “G5” class, an evolution of the previous class of “G4” RO/RO multipurpose ships delivered to the Grimaldi Group by Hyundai Miipo between 2014 and 2015.
The G5-class ships will be able to transport 4,700 linear meters of rolling freight, 2,500 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) and 2,000 TEU of container capacity. They will thus have the same rolling freight capacity as the G4 vessels, but container capacity will double.
The ships will be fitted with hybrid exhaust gas scrubbers and both the main engine and the auxiliary diesel generators will meet IMO Tier III NOx levels. An integrated propulsion solution between the rudder and the propeller will minimize vortex losses, optimizing propulsive efficiency and reducing fuel consumption. Additionally, their hulls will be coated with low-friction paints.
The ships will be designed to connect to the shoreside supply of electricity at berth, where available. Electrical consumption of on-board machinery (pumps, fans, etc.) will be reduced through the installation of variable frequency drive devices.
In total, says Grimaldi, the G5-class ships will obtain a reduction in CO2 emissions per tonne transported of up to 43% compared to other Grimaldi multipurpose Ro/Ro ships.
“The new series of Ro/Ro multipurpose G5-class ships was designed to respond even more efficiently to the demand for quality transport services on deep sea routes, reconciling the needs related to international freight traffic with that of protecting the environment,” said Gianluca Grimaldi, President of Grimaldi Group SpA. “We are thus taking a further, important step within a path undertaken for years now with the aim of operating on all our main routes with an increasingly young, modern and eco-sustainable fleet”.
The six new ships are expected to be delivered between the first months of 2023 and the end of 2024. They will be deployed on Grimaldi Group services between North Europe and West Africa, particularly to Lagos (Nigeria), and will replace older ships in the group that will have reached an age of 25 years.
