The Grimaldi fleet renewal and modernization program continues unabated. Today in Nanjing (China) the Neapolitan Group took delivery of the Eco Savona, the fourth of the twelve ultra-modern hybrid ro-ro units of the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) series ordered from the Jinling shipyard.
The Eco Savona flies the Italian flag and, like her sister units, is a veritable green giant: the GG5G-class ships are in fact the largest ro-ro units in the world for short-sea shipping, as well as the most ecofriendly.
The Eco Savona 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. If compared to the units of the previous series of ro-ro vessels deployed by the Grimaldi Group for short sea shipping, the new ship can accommodate double the load on her seven decks (two of which are hoistable): in fact, she can carry 7,800 linear meters of rolling freight, equivalent to around 500 trailers and 180 cars. Moreover, the quarter stern ramp allows the loading of freight units weighing up to 150 tons.
However, the increase in capacity does not affect fuel consumption, thanks to the adoption of numerous highly innovative technological solutions that optimize the ship's fuel consumption and performance: in fact, at the same speed, the Eco Savona 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.
Furthermore, during port stays, the Eco Savona is capable of cutting emissions to zero by using the electricity stored in mega lithium batteries with a total power of 5 MWh, which are recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350 m2 of solar panels. The vessel is also equipped with state-of-the-art, electronically controlled engines and with an exhaust gas cleaning system for the reduction of sulphur and particulate emissions.
"It is a source of great pride for us to be able to put increasingly capacious, modern and environmentally friendly ships such as the Eco Savona at our customers’ disposal," said Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of the Neapolitan company. "The future of transport can only be based on eco-sustainability and efficiency, and also thanks to our Group’s commitment this future is ever closer".
Upon arrival in Italy from China next April, the Eco Savona will be deployed on the regular ro-ro service that connects Italy (Livorno and Savona) to Spain (Barcelona and Valencia), just like her sister vessels Eco Valencia, Eco Barcelona and Eco Livorno.