On March 01, 2022, the Grimaldi Group took delivery of Eco Malta, the sixth of twelve state-of-the-art units ordered from the Chinese Jinling shipyard located in Nanjing. Thanks to their unique design, GG5G ships are not only the largest ro-ro units in the world for short sea shipping but also the most eco-friendly.
Like her five sister vessels already delivered and deployed in the Mediterranean, Eco Malta flies the Italian flag, has a length of 238 meters, a beam of 34 meters, a gross tonnage of 67,311 tonnes, and a 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 meters 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 Malta 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.
In addition, during port stays, Eco Malta is capable of cutting emissions to zero by using 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. The vessel is also equipped with state-of-the-art, electronically controlled engines and with an exhaust gas cleaning system for the reduction of sulphur and particulate emissions.
“The green transition requires great commitment and continuous investments, and in the shipping industry our Group has been moving decisively and quickly in this direction for years,” said Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of the Neapolitan shipping company. “True sustainability requires us to effectively meet the needs of the market by minimizing the environmental impact: this is the result we are aiming for by adding to ships our fleet that are both more capacious and more eco-friendly, just like the Eco Malta.”
Once she arrives from China, Eco Malta will be deployed to further enhance the ro-ro service between Northern Italy (Livorno, Savona) and Southern Spain (Barcelona, Valencia), where her three sister vessels Eco Savona, Eco Valencia, and Eco Barcelona are also currently operational.
