GRIMALDI BOOSTS DEEPSEA RO-RO INVESTMENT

The US$500 million contract is a further coup for Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD), recipient of several earlier phases of large-scale investment by the Neopolitan group, and entails delivery slots between the early part of 2023 and the end of 2024.

The chosen design, dubbed the G5 class, encapsulates Grimaldi’s know-how as a practitioner of the combination of ro-ro and lo-lo handling modes, and builds on experience with the previous generation, as an evolution of the G4 series of multipurpose ro-ros. The G5 type will be able to load 4,700 linear metres of rolling freight, 2,500 car equivalent units (CEUs), and 2,000TEU containers within a hull envelope of 250m x 38m, at a deadweight of nearly 46,000t.

Through the optimisation of the internal configuration, the G5 breed will thereby double the capacity for boxes afforded by the G4 ships while retaining the same intake of ro-ro cargo. Two deck-mounted cranes will provide the lo-lo wherewithal, complementing aftship ro-ro access. Relative to other ro-ro multipurpose units operated by the company, the newbuilds will realise reductions of up to 43% in CO² emissions per tonne transported.

Both the main engine and the auxiliary diesel generators will be models that meet the NOx levels mandated under the IMO Tier III regulation, and hybrid exhaust gas cleaning technology has been specified for the abatement of sulphur and particulate emissions. Rather than running gensets when alongside, the ships will be fitted to draw electricity from the shoreside grid where such facilities are available.

The raft of efficiency measures includes an integrated design approach to rudder and propeller so as improve hydrodynamic performance and reduce fuel consumption by minimising vortex losses, with variable frequency drives nominated for pumps, fans and other equipment.

The sextet from HMD will supersede vessels which will have reached an age of 25 on the group’s liner-type services between North Europe and West Africa, entailing multi-port itineraries requiring expeditious turnarounds. Grimaldi’s regional transhipment hub is Dakar, Senegal, while a key point in the trade is Lagos, Nigeria, where some US$60m has been ploughed over the years into the creation of a showcase ro-ro terminal on the African continent.

The latest order strengthens Grimaldi’s business relationship with the HMD yard, which produced five and six vessels, respectively, of the preceding multipurpose con-ro types, plus the 10 representatives of the Eurocargo class of ro-ro freight carriers.

Current newbuild commitments include the 12-ship series of GG5G ro-ro trailerships booked from China’s Nanjing Jinling Shipyard and led last October by the 7,800 lane-metre capacity Eco Valencia. The powering arrangements are based on a pair of MAN two-stroke engines, augmented by an exceptionally large outfit of lithium batteries, and the innovative design features an under-hull air lubrication system.