Grimaldi pours $1.3 billion into new methanol-ready Ro-Pax fleet

Italian shipping group Grimaldi has placed a $1.3 billion order for nine methanol-ready Roll-On/Roll-Off Passenger (Ro-Pax) vessels at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai) as part of its fleet expansion and renewal agenda.

The shipbuilding contract, which entails six vessels to be deployed under the Grimaldi Lines and Minoan Lines brands and three units to be operated by Finnlines, was signed on April 8 in Hong Kong.

As explained, four vessels will fly the Italian flag and be operated under the Grimaldi Lines brand while two Greek-flagged ships will be deployed by the Greek subsidiary Minoan Lines. These six sister ships belong to the Next Generation Med class and will serve routes in the Mediterranean.

The remaining three will be delivered to Finnlines, sail under the Finnish flag, and inaugurate the Hansa Superstar class – constituting the evolution of the Superstar series – intended for routes in the Baltic Sea.

According to Grimaldi, the new ships will be equipped with engines capable of running on methanol, in line with the Net Zero Emission goal.

The ships are scheduled for delivery between 2028 and 2030 and will feature optimized hull and propeller designs, energy-efficient onboard power management systems (both at sea and in port), shore power readiness, and the application of silicon-based hull coatings which will reduce CO2 emissions per transported cargo unit by more than 50% compared to vessels currently operating on the same routes, the shipping company claimed.

The six Ro-Pax ships intended for the Mediterranean will have a length of 229 meters, a cargo capacity of 3,300 lane meters for rolling freight and over 300 cars, with the capacity to accommodate up to 2,500 passengers. They will be the first in the Mediterranean designed to run on methanol.

The three newbuilds designated for the Baltic Sea will be 240 meters long, with a cargo capacity of 5,100 lane meters for rolling freight plus 90 cars, and accommodation in 320 cabins for up to 1,100 passengers. Their design is based on Finnlines’ Superstar-class vessels, Finnsirius and Finncanopus, and adapted for the Finland-Germany route.

“With the order of these nine extraordinary ro-pax vessels, we continue and strengthen our long, successful alliance with China Merchants Group, an outstanding partner for the building of cutting-edge ships,” said Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of the Grimaldi Group.

“The new Next Generation Med and Hansa Superstar classes are the result of a thorough study of our customers’ needs and, more broadly, those of shipping. Today more than ever, the latter requires quality, efficiency and environmental sustainability to remain a key mode of national and international freight and passenger transport. In particular, the exceptional performance in CO₂ emission reduction and the use of methanol as an alternative fuel bring our Group even closer to the global goal of net-zero emissions, further solidifying our position as a leading player in short-sea transport in the Mediterranean and Baltic regions.”