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Grimaldi names island lifeline ship

[ May 31, 2022   //   ]

The port of Valletta hosted the christening ceremony for Grimaldi Group’s latest ro-ro vessel, the Eco Malta on 30 May.

Delivered in March, she is the sixth of 12 hybrid ships belonging to the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) class from the Jinling shipyard located in Nanjing, China.

The Eco Malta has already joined her sister vessel Eco Catania on the routes between Genoa and Malta and Ravenna, Brindisi and Catania, with onward connections to the rest of Grimaldi’s 140-port global network.

The ceremony was presided over by Malta’s President George Vella, along with representatives of other national authorities and the port community of Valletta and customers.

Archbishop of Malta Monsignor Charles Scicluna blessed the Eco Maltaand the ribbon was cut by the vessel’s Godmother and Malta’s First Lady Miriam Vella.

The Eco Malta is has a capacity of over 500 trailers and will halve CO2 emissions compared to the previous generation of ro-ro ships, says Grimaldi. These can be reduced  to zero at berth as the GG5G-class ships can use mega lithium batteries with a total power of 5MWh, which are recharged during navigation by shaft generators and 350sq m of solar panels. Electronically-controlled engines and an exhaust gas cleaning system abate sulphur and particulate emissions.

Grimaldi group executive manager Eugenio Grimaldi (pictured, below) said: “This marks an important milestone for the maritime and transport industry locally as well as in the whole Mediterranean.”

In 2005 Grimaldi founded a Malta Motorways of the Sea (MMOS) subsidiary which runs a regular service between Malta and Genoa, Livorno, Salerno and Catania in mainland Italy under a Public Service Obligation contract with the Maltese Government, made up of Maltese-flagged vessels.

MMOS has a permanent cooperation agreement with MCAST – Maritime Institute for the training of sea cadets onboard its vessels. Hundreds of Maltese cadets have received training so far, many of whom have also been hired by Grimaldi Group companies.

(The next printed issue of FBJ [FBJ 4 2022] will contain a report on Malta.)

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