Italian shipowner Grimaldi Group has held a steel-cutting ceremony for its ammonia-ready pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) PCTC Grande Tianjin.
As informed, the ceremony, which was held on July 18, 2024, marked the beginning of the construction process for the ship. Chinese Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding has been contracted to build the ship.
The unit is the first in a series of seven new PCTCs Grimaldi ordered for its fleet. These innovative vessels will feature electronic engines with low specific fuel consumption and advanced emission reduction systems, to meet stringent international standards for CO2, NOx, and SOx emissions, according to Grimaldi.
The ammonia-ready class notation received from RINA certifies that these new car carriers can be converted to use zero-carbon ammonia fuel in the future.
Additionally, they are designed for cold ironing with shoreside supply or electricity, which constitutes a green alternative to the consumption of fossil fuels.
“The Grimaldi Group’s ambitious fleet modernization project is essential to tackle the urgent challenge of decarbonization in the shipping industry,” Grimaldi noted.
To remind, Grimaldi took delivery of Great Abidjan, the fourth ship in a series of six multipurpose RoRo units belonging to the new G5 class.