Fincantieri to stretch and upgrade Grimaldi cruise ferry duo

Cruise Roma and Cruise Barcelona

MARCH 5, 2018 — Fincantieri and the Naples headquartered Grimaldi Group have signed a letter of intent covering the lengthening and refurbishment program of the cruise ferries Cruise Roma and Cruise Barcelona.

Additionally, exhaust gas acrubbers will be added and a lithium-ion battery based solution will be installed to power the ship during turnaround time in ports, avoiding the need to use the ship’s diesel-powered generators and achieving Grimaldi Group’s goal of zero port emissions.

The construction of the two mid-body sections will begin in 2018, with completion of the works Fincantieri’s Palermo shipyard following in summer 2019.

The two vessels are currently in daily service on the Grimaldi Lines Civitavecchia- Porto Torres-Barcelona route. They were built by Fincantieri’s Castellammare di Stabia yard and delivered in 2007 and 2008 respectively. They are 225 m long, having a gross tonnage of 54,000 tons and can carry about 3,000 passengers. They a 2,400 sq. m car deck and offer approx. 3,000 linear meters for heavy vehicles.

At the end of the lengthening project, to be carried out by Fincantieri’s Ship Repair and Conversion division, each ship will be about 254 m long, have a gross tonnage of about 63,000 tons and will be able to transport 3,500 passengers, with a 3,000 sq meters car deck and over 3,600 linear meters of heavy vehicle capacity.

The project will involve adding about 600 additional linear meters for heavy vehicles, 80 sleeping accommodations in new passenger cabins, two new public spaces with a total capacity of 450 Pullman beds and a new “Family self-service” restaurant with about 270 seats, will be placed in the 29 m long insert section . Refurbishment work to the existing public areas will include the creation of a theme restaurant. ]

“The ambitious renewal and lengthening program of our two cruise ferries Cruise Roma and Cruise Barcelona, testifies the continuous commitment to excellence, innovation and respect for the environment of the Grimaldi Group,” said Emanuele Grimaldi, CEO of the Group. “We are very pleased to have strengthened the historic cooperation partnership with Fincantieri, entrusting the order to the yard in Palermo … thus contributing to creating new employment opportunities in a delicate moment for the South of Italy,”

Over the years, Fincantieri has built 30 different types of vessels for Grimaldi.

“It is no accident that we have been appointed to renew two high-tech ships built by us,” said Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono, “In fact, thanks to the notable experience gained in these years by our shipyard in Palermo, established as a as a reference point worldwide in this kind of highly sophisticated operations, we have consolidated our leadership also in the repair and conversions sector. Such references are the best way to restart the partnership with a prestigious shipowner and its different brands with whom we have worked long and successfully in the past.”