The Naples-based Grimaldi group welcomes the Eco Adriatica to its Green 5th Generation (GG5G) fleet. This ship is the eleventh of twelve GG5G hybrid vessel units, ordered from Jinling shipyard in Nanjing, China. They are the largest and most sustainable ro-ro units available globally.

The vessel measures 238 metres in length and 34 metres in width. It has a gross tonnage of 67,311 tonnes. Flying under the Italian flag, the Eco Adriatica has twice the capacity of the previous class of short sea ro-ro ships deployed by the Grimaldi Group. With seven decks, including two hoistable ones, the ship can carry 7,800 metres of freight, or around 500 trailers and 180 cars.

This capacity does not however affect fuel consumption, in fact, when sailing at the same speed as the previous generation of this class, fuel consumption is the same. This translates to a 50% reduction in emissions per transported unit.

This is made possible by performance optimising technological solutions, which include electronically controlled engines, emission-reducing exhaust gas cleaning systems, and 5 MWh mega lithium batteries. The batteries can be recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350 m2 of solar panels, cutting emissions to zero while in port.

Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of Grimaldi, stated: “It is not enough to talk about ecological transition: we must bring about change, and our Group is doing it by making its fleet increasingly modern, efficient and sustainable”