Fincantieri and the Grimaldi Group have formalized the contract for the lengthening and refurbishment program for the cruise ferries Cruise Roma and Cruise Barcelona.
The contract builds upon the letter of intent inked earlier this month.
The construction of the two mid-body sections will begin in 2018, while the completion of the works at Palermo shipyard is foreseen within summer 2019, according to Fincantieri.
The two vessels, built by Fincantieri in 2007 and 2008 respectively, will be stretched by 29 meters each, taking their total length to about 254 meters.
The lengthening section will include about 600 additional linear meters for heavy vehicles, together with 80 sleeping accommodations in new passenger cabins and two new public spaces.
Upon the project completion, the ships will have a gross tonnage of about 63,000 tons and ability to transport 3,500 passengers, with a 3,000 square meters car deck and over 3,700 linear meters for heavy vehicles.
The ships, currently in service on the daily route Civitavecchia- Porto Torres-Barcelona, will also be fitted with a scrubber system for the exhaust gas cleaning as well as a system to power the ship during the turnaround time in ports, based on mega-lithium batteries, in order to avoid the use of the diesel-powered generators.