China’s Jinling Shipyard has started construction of the first hybrid roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) freighter for Italian shipping company Grimaldi Group.
Danish marine consultancy Knud E. Hansen, which was in charge of designing the vessels, confirmed the milestone without revealing the exact date of the start of construction.
A total of 12 vessels in the class are scheduled to be built, with first delivery expected in 2020.
Referred to as the ‘Grimaldi Green 5th Generation’ (GG5G), the hybrid vessels will use traditional fossil fuels during operation and battery power when in port.
The RoRos measure 238 meters in length and have a beam of 34 meters. The 64,000-ton ships will be capable of transporting over 7,800 lane meters of rolling units, equivalent to approximately 500 trailers.
Power and hybrid systems for the ships will be delivered by Kongsberg Maritime, while Steering gears and propulsion and maneuvering systems will be supplied by Rolls-Royce.
The newbuilds are part of Grimaldi’s fleet renewal, which will see the Italian shipping company invest USD 1.5 billion in new units . In addition to the hybrid freighters, Grimaldi also has seven pure car & truck carrier vessels on order from China.