Grimaldi Group has held a christening ceremony for its latest newbuild ro-ro vessel – Eco Malta – at the port of Valletta, Malta.
Eco Malta was delivered in March, representing the sixth vessel in the 12-ship Grimaldi Green 5th Generation-class (GG5G) order at Chinese Jinling shipyard located in Nanjing.
Grimaldi said: “The Eco Malta is one of the largest and most eco-friendly ro-ro ships in the world. With a transport capacity of over 500 trailers, these green giants are able to halve CO2 emissions compared to the previous generation of ro-ro ships operated by the Grimaldi Group, and even to reduce them to zero while they are at berth: during port stays, GG5G-class ships can in fact use the electrical energy stored by mega-lithium batteries with a total power of 5 MWh, which are recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350 sq m of solar panels. Moreover, they are equipped with state-of-the-art electronically-controlled engines and an exhaust gas cleaning system for the abatement of sulphur and particulate emissions.”
Eco Malta has joined its sister vessel Eco Catania on the connections between Ravenna, Brindisi, Catania and between Genoa and Malta.
