A design of Grimaldi’s new roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels has been unveiled by Danish marine consultancy Knud E. Hansen.
Under a contract signed with China’s Nanjing Jinling Shipyard, Knud E. Hansen has developed the basic design of a number of large RoRo vessels in cooperation with Italian shipping group Grimaldi.
The RoRo’s are known as the ‘Grimaldi Green 5th Generation’ (GG5G).
“The collaboration (…) enabled us to develop a new generation of vessels that represent real advancement in terms of sustainability and efficiency by using various new technologies,” Finn Wollesen, Knud E. Hansen Managing Director, said.
The new vessels, the first of which is expected to be delivered in 2020, will feature a length of 238 meters and a beam of 34 meters. The 64,000-ton ships will be able to transport over 7,800 lane meters of rolling units, equivalent to approximately 500 trailers.
As explained, the vessels will use electricity in port, courtesy of large lithium batteries, thus guaranteeing zero emissions whilst at berth. These batteries will be recharged during navigation, through shaft generators adding the so-called peak shaving system, and with the aid of 600 m2 of solar panels.
Earlier this year, Grimaldi ordered six RoRo vessels from Jinling. The newbuilds, worth USD 400 million, form part of the company’s fleet expansion plan.
Once delivered, three ships from the batch will be operated by Grimaldi Lines in the Mediterranean, while the remaining three ships will be purchased by Finnlines, the group’s sister company, for operation in the Baltic Sea.