LA SUPERBA Second generation cruise ferry

The 50,400g La Superba, delivered in March by Italian shipbuilder Nuovi Cantieri Apuania, is the first in a new two-ship series of what its Italian owner Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) describes as “second generation cruise ferries”. It is built to be even more like a cruise ship than previous cruise ferries.

Cruises are scheduled outside the Mediterranean?s peak summer season (May to September) for ferry traffic. In this mode La Superba can accommodate just under 1,300 passengers in 567 cabins.

When operating as a ropax ferry, up to 2,920 passengers are carried. The ship has 940 Pullman reclining seats, in addition to the cabin accommodation. Up to 1,000 cars are transported using the 2,500 lane meters spread over the ship?s four garage decks.

La Superba operates on the eight to 10 hour sailing between Genoa, Italy and Olbia in Sardinia. The crossing is achieved at speeds of up to 29 knots. La Superba has a power plant containing four diesel engines generating 67,200kW. These provide mechanical drive to two four-bladed CP propellers.

Alfredo Bruzzone, sales director at GNV, expresses complete satisfaction with the performance of the ship and, in particular, its flexibility as a cruise ship.

A sistership, La Suprema, will join the fleet this May.

La Superba was featured in the July edition.