Grimaldi Takes Delivery of Third PCTC Newbuild

Italian Grimaldi Group has welcomed to its fleet Grande Houston, a new pure car & truck carrier (PCTC).

On January 15, 2020, Grimaldi took delivery of the third of the seven ships built the Chinese shipyard Yangfan, located in Zhoushan.

Like its sisterships Grande Torino and Grande Mirafiori, already operational since 2019, the Grande Houston will be deployed on the weekly Mediterranean-North America service.

The 65,255 GT Grande Houston has a length of 199.90 meters, a beam of 36.45 meters, and a service speed of 19 knots. Flying the flag of Italy, the environmentally friendly PCTC can transport around 7,600 CEU or alternatively 5,400 linear meters of rolling stock and 2,737 CEU.

“The delivery of the Grande Houston represents a further step forward in the direction of an ever younger, efficient and eco-sustainable Grimaldi fleet”, Emanuele Grimaldi, Group Managing Director, commented.

As informed, Grande Houston will enter service in March 2019 and will further enhance the weekly RoRo connection operated by the Grimaldi Group between the Mediterranean and North America.

Along with the already operating Grande Mirafiori, Grande Torino, Grande Halifax, Grande Baltimora and Grande New York, the Grande Houston will regularly call at 14 ports in Italy, Spain, Belgium, Canada, United States, and Mexico.