The twelfth hybrid ro-ro ship of the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) class was delivered from the Chinese Jinling shipyard in Nanjing last week. Eco Italia, like her eleven sister vessels already deployed in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, is one of the largest and most eco-friendly ro-ro units in the world for short sea shipping.
Eco Italia flies the Italian flag, has a length of 238 metres, beam of 34 metres, gross tonnage of 67,311 tonnes and service speed of 20.8 knots. The loading capacity of her seven decks – two of which are hoistable – is twice that of the previous class of short sea ro-ro ships deployed by the Grimaldi Group: in fact, the vessel can carry some 7,800 linear metres of freight, equivalent to around 500 trailers and 180 cars.
However, the increase in capacity does not affect fuel consumption, thanks to the adoption of numerous highly innovative technological solutions that optimize the ship’s operational and environmental performance: in fact, at the same speed, Eco Italia consumes the same amount of fuel compared to the previous generation ro-ro ships, and is therefore able to halve CO2 emissions per unit transported.
Eco Italia is equipped with state-of-the-art, electronically controlled engines and with an exhaust gas cleaning system for the reduction of sulphur and particulate emissions. In addition, while at berth, the ship reaches the ‘Zero emission in port’ target: during port operations, Eco Italia uses the electricity stored in mega lithium batteries with a total power of 5 MWh; these are recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350 m2 of solar panels.
“With their outstanding operational and environmental performance, our ‘Eco’ ships are revolutionizing short sea shipping in Europe”, stated the Neapolitan group Managing Director Emanuele Grimaldi. “We will continue to invest in this green revolution, as recently confirmed with the order of two more GG5G-class units, to be delivered by 2025”.
Upon her arrival in Italy, scheduled for the end of November, Eco Italia will be deployed in the motorways of the sea network operated by the Grimaldi Group in the Western Mediterranean.
