The Grimaldi Group has recently taken delivery of the Grande Shanghai, the first of ten new-generation Pure Car & Truck Carriers (PCTC) ordered from China Merchants Heavy Industries. This vessel is the second “Ammonia Ready” ship in the Grimaldi fleet and is designed to be highly fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly.
Vessel Features and Capacity
The Grande Shanghai, developed in partnership with naval architects Knud E. Hansen, is 220 meters long and 38 meters wide. It has a gross tonnage of 91,611 tons and a service speed of 18 knots. The carrier has 14 decks and a capacity of 9,000 Car Equivalent Units (CEU), making it suitable for transporting both conventional and electric vehicles. The following five vessels in the order will have an even larger capacity of up to 9,800 CEU.
Sustainable and Technological Innovations
The Grande Shanghai is equipped with several cutting-edge environmental technologies:
- Fuel Efficiency: The vessel achieves 50% lower fuel consumption compared to earlier generations of car carriers.
- Alternative Power: It is equipped with mega lithium batteries totaling 5 MWh and can connect to shore power, allowing for zero-emission operations while in port. It also has 2,500 square meters of solar panels.
- Ammonia Ready Certification: The ship has received RINA’s “Ammonia Ready” certification, confirming its future capability to use ammonia as a fuel.
- Advanced Technologies: The vessel features silicon-based hull coatings to reduce drag, smart ventilation, and an electronically controlled engine with exhaust gas cleaning to meet IMO Tier III emission standards.
- Propulsion and Maneuverability: It includes an Air Lubrication System, an optimized hull form, and a new gate rudder design to improve efficiency and maneuverability.
Operational Plans
The Grande Shanghai will begin service on the East Asia–East Africa route and is scheduled to depart from Taicang, China, in early September. It will transport rolling cargo, including cars, trucks, buses, and agricultural machinery, to ports like Mombasa (Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). According to Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of the Group, this investment reinforces the company’s commitment to supporting the global automotive industry with sustainable transport solutions.
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Source: Container News
