Grimaldi christens 5th hybrid RoRo

Italian Grimaldi Group has christened Eco Catania, a new hybrid roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel delivered to the company last month.

The christening ceremony took place recently at the port of Catania, Sicily.

Eco Catania is the fifth of twelve hybrid ships belonging to the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) class and being built by the Chinese Jinling shipyard located in Nanjing.

Just as its four hybrid GG5G-class sister vessels already in service in the Mediterranean, the Eco Catania is said to be one of the largest and most eco-friendly RoRo ships in the world.

With a transport capacity of over 500 trailers, these green giants are able to halve CO2 emissions compared to the previous generation of RoRos operated by the Grimaldi Group, and even to reduce them to zero while they are at berth — during port stays, GG5G-class ships can in fact use the electrical energy stored by mega lithium batteries with a total power of 5MWh, which are recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350 square metres of solar panels. Moreover, they are equipped with electronically-controlled engines and an exhaust gas cleaning system for the abatement of sulphur and particulate emissions.

“We are proud and grateful that … Grimaldi Lines has named one of the most modern ships after Catania – a vessel equipped with advanced eco-friendly systems capable of protecting the environment,” Catania Mayor Salvo Pogliese, pointed out.

“This is an innovative approach to maritime transport that we share, as it is in line with our attitude to combine development with environmental protection.”

Eastern Sicily Sea Port System Authority Commissioner Alberto Chiovelli also underlined the importance of investing concretely in the sustainable development of the Sicilian port, just as the Grimaldi Group did by dedicating the eco-friendly RoRo vessel to it.

“The Eco Catania is a concrete reality that combines development and sustainability, an important entrepreneurial initiative consistent with national and community planning. We must seize the development opportunities that this important initiative offers us, also in terms of employment, continuing with the infrastructure development programs in the port of Catania in order to make it increasingly capable of providing adequate responses and guaranteeing a virtuous growth of the port system as a whole,” he commented.

In the coming days, the Eco Catania will begin to operate regularly between the ports of Genoa, Livorno, Catania and Malta, joining its sister vessel Eco Livorno which is already in service on the same route.