Italian shipping company the Grimaldi Group has taken delivery of a new pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) built by China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI).
Grande Pacifico is the first ship in a new series of five PCTCs to be built by CMHI. Grimaldi said the five vessels were developed as improved variants of an earlier series of PCTCs.
The newer series will feature even greater cargo capacities, with each ship being able to carry 9,800 CEUs compared to 9,241 CEUs on each of the earlier vessels.
Grande Pacifico has an LOA of 220 metres, a beam of 38 metres, a gross tonnage of 95,534, 15 cargo decks, lithium batteries with a total capacity of five MWh, and 2,500 square metres of solar panels. In addition to being able to carry electric vehicles and conventionally fuelled vehicles, the ship is also designed to transport compressed natural gas-powered vehicles.
The PCTC has also been awarded RINA's "ammonia ready" class notation, thus certifying that she can be converted to operate on ammonia as a lower-emission alternative fuel. The ship has also received RINA's "comfort vibration" and "comfort noise port" notations.
Grimaldi said that, thanks to the numerous environmentally friendly technologies installed on board, Grande Pacifico is capable of reducing fuel consumption by as much as 50 per cent compared to the previous generation of car carriers.
The PCTC will soon embark on her maiden commercial voyage, transporting vehicles and other rolling cargo from Taicang Port in China and offloading these at Antwerp and Southampton.
