The Grimaldi Group took delivery of the 9,800CEU pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) Grande Egitto from China Merchants Heavy Industry on Monday, September 21.
The 95,534GT ship is Grimaldi’s 14th vessel with RINA’s ammonia ready notation. At 220 metres long and 38 metres wide, it shares the distinction of being the group’s largest car carrier with sister vessel Grande Pacifico, which was delivered in August.
Grande Egitto will begin its maiden voyage next week on Grimaldi’s Asia–East Africa service. The vessel is scheduled to load 4,150 cars and 6,200 lane metres of rolling cargo at Taicang in China and Yokohama and Nagoya in Japan.
The cargo, which will include excavators, buses and trucks, is bound for Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Mombasa in Kenya.
The PCTC has a 5MWh lithium battery pack, cold-ironing capability, and solar panels covering about 2,500 square metres. Other measures for improving efficiency include an air lubrication system, silicone-based hull coatings, an optimised hull, and a gate rudder.
