Grimaldi Takes Delivery of Hybrid Short-Sea Ro-Ro

Shipyard Jinling in Nanjing (China) has delivered the Eco Napoli, the last of 14 ships in the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) class, which includes the world’s largest and most eco-friendly ro-ro vessels for short-sea shipping.

The Italian-flagged Eco Napoli has a length of 238 meters, a beam of 34 meters, a gross tonnage of 67,311 tonnes and a service speed of 20.8 knots.

Compared to the company’s previous ro-ro series, the new ship can accommodate double the load on its seven decks (two of which are hoistable). In total, it can carry 7,800 linear meters of rolling freight, equivalent to around 500 trailers and 180 cars.

At the same speed, the Eco Napoli consumes the same amount of fuel compared to the previous generation ro-ro ships and is therefore able to halve CO2 emissions per unit transported.

The vessel is also equipped with electronically controlled engines and with an exhaust gas cleaning system for the reduction of sulfur and particulate emissions. During port stays, the Eco Napoli is capable of cutting emissions to zero using lithium batteries with a total power of 5 MWh, which are recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350m2 of solar panels.

The Eco Napoli is expected to arrive in the Mediterranean in early May, carrying approximately 7,800 linear meters of rolling cargo (cars, vans, trucks, agricultural machines, etc.). It will then be used to further strengthen the Grimaldi Group's ro-ro connection between Gemlik, Ambarli, Patras, and Trieste.

"With the arrival of the Eco Napoli, the GG5G fleet is finally complete: fourteen hybrid ro-ro units, with a total value exceeding one billion dollars, which in recent years have revolutionized short-sea transport in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe," stated Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of the Naples-based group.