Grimaldi takes delivery of 4th eco-friendly PCTC newbuild

Italy’s Grimaldi Group has further expanded its fleet with the arrival of Grande New Jersey, a new pure car & truck carrier (PCTC).

On 4 September, the company took delivery of the fourth of seven ships ordered by Grimaldi from the Chinese shipyard Yangfan.

With a length of 199.9 metres and a beam of 36.45 metres, the Grande New Jersey has a gross tonnage of 65,255 tonnes and a service speed of 19 knots. The ship flies the Italian flag and is among the largest PCTC vessels on the market — it can transport around 7,600 CEU or, alternatively, 5,400 linear metres of rolling stock and 2,737 CEU.

According to Grimaldi Group, the newbuild is an extremely flexible vessel — with its four hoistable decks, the Grande New Jersey is able to load any type of rolling freight up to 5.3 metres high.

The Grande New Jersey is fitted with a side ramp and a quarter stern ramp, the latter allowing the loading of freight units weighing up to 150 tonnes. Thanks to the configuration of its 12 decks and to its system of internal ramps, the risk of damage during loading or unloading of rolling cargo is minimised, the company explained.

“With the arrival of the Grande New Jersey, the new vessel delivery schedule goes on for the Grimaldi fleet,” Emanuele Grimaldi, the Group CEO, commented.

“This new unit is part of the fleet upgrading and renewal program launched by the group in recent years with various orders for ultra-technological, highly flexible and increasingly eco-friendly ships.”

Specifically, the Grande New Jersey is equipped with devices that allow it to reduce harmful emissions and achieve high energy efficiency, thus ensuring truly eco-sustainable transport. In particular, the PCTC is fitted with an electronically-controlled Man Energy Solutions main engine, as required by the new regulations for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, as well as with an exhaust gas cleaning system for reducing sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions. Finally, the ship complies with the latest ballast water treatment regulations.

The PCTC, currently bound to the Mediterranean, is scheduled to reach the port of Salerno at the end of September and will enter service on the weekly RoRo service operated by the Grimaldi Group between the Mediterranean and North America (Canada, United States and Mexico), together with the already operational Grande Baltimora, Grande Halifax, Grande Houston, Grande Mirafiori, Grande New York and Grande Torino.

The Grande New Jersey will call regularly at fifteen ports in Italy (Civitavecchia, Livorno, Salerno, Savona), Spain (Valencia), Belgium (Antwerp), Canada (Halifax), USA (Baltimore, Davisville, Houston, Jacksonville, New York), and Mexico (Altamira, Tuxpan, Veracruz).