The Neapolitan shipping group Grimaldi just now announced that starting from Monday 26 June, their vessels Eco Catania and Eco Malta will regularly operate the line dedicated to the transport of rolling freight between Italy and Greece, dramatically reducing its environmental impact.
The regular ro-ro line operated by the Grimaldi Group between Venice, Bari in Italy and Patras in Greece now will be served by two of the company’s “green giants”, the state-of-the-art hybrid vessels Eco Catania and Eco Malta.
It is stated by the company that the two “GG5G”-class ships can carry some 7,800 linear metres of freight, equivalent to around 500 trailers and 180 cars, which is twice as much as the previous class of short sea ro-ro ships deployed on the line by the Grimaldi Group.
However, this greater capacity does not increase fuel consumption thanks to the adoption of numerous highly innovative technological solutions that optimize the vessels’ operational and environmental performance: in fact, at the same speed, Eco Catania and Eco Malta consume the same amount of fuel as the previous generation ro-ro ships, meaning they can effectively halve CO2 emissions per unit transported.
Furthermore, the emissions are cut to zero during port operations: when they are at berth, Eco Catania and Eco Malta use the electricity stored in mega lithium batteries which are recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350 m2 of solar panels installed on board, thus reaching the “Zero Emission in Port®” target, the company said.
Grimaldi, in synergy with the Port System Authorities of the Northern Adriatic Sea and of the Southern Adriatic Sea, as well as that of the Greek port of Patras, aims to enhance maritime intermodality between the two shores of the Adriatic through the use of ships which are among the largest and most eco-friendly in the world, with much higher capacity and better performances than the “Eurocargo” class ships that they will replace on the line.
