Grimaldi Group has taken delivery of Grande California – the last of seven pure care and truck carriers (PCTC) it ordered from the Chinese Yangfan shipyard in Zhoushan.
Grande California measures 199.9 m in length with a beam of 36.45 m. With a gross tonnage of 65,255 tonnes and a service speed of 19 knots the Italian-flagged ship can transport around 7,600 ceu (car equivalent units) or, alternatively, 5,400 linear m of rolling stock and 2,737 ceu.
The vessel is also equipped with devices that reduce harmful emissions and achieve high energy efficiency, Grimaldi said. These include an electronically controlled Man Energy Solutions main engine as well as an exhaust gas cleaning system for cutting sulphur oxide (SOX) and particulate emissions.
Upon arrival from China, the Grande California will be deployed to further boost the weekly ro-ro connection operated by the Grimaldi Group between the Mediterranean and North America, regularly serving ports in Italy (Civitavecchia, Gioia Tauro, Livorno, Salerno, Savona), Spain (Valencia), Belgium (Antwerp), Canada (Halifax), the USA (Baltimore, Davisville, Houston, Jacksonville, New York), and Mexico (Altamira, Veracruz).
Emanuele Grimaldi, managing director of the shipping company, said that another 15 new innovative ships will be delivered to the group in the coming years, “and we continue to invest in research and development to constantly increase the quality of our offer while reducing the environmental impact of our operations.”
