Sixth unit of GG5G operational
The sixth of the dozen of the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) class vessels has now been delivered, with the “Eco Malta” joining the fleet. She will be deployed in the ro-ro service between Northern Italy (Livorno, Savona) and Southern Spain (Barcelona, Valencia), where her three sister vessels “Eco Savona”, “Eco Valencia” and “Eco Barcelona” are already ion service.
This youngest unit was built at the Chinese Jinling shipyard located in Nanjing. Currently, GG5G ships are the largest ro-ro units in terms of capacity, but also the most eco-friendly.
Like her five sister vessels already delivered and deployed in the Mediterranean, the “Eco Malta” flies the Italian flag, has a length of 238 m, a beam of 34 m, a gross tonnage of 67,311 t and a service speed of 20.8 knots.
On her seven decks – two of which are hoistable, the vessel can carry some 7,800 linear metres of freight. Nevertheless, the “Eco Malta” consumes the same amount of fuel compared to the previous generation ro-ro ships, and is therefore able to halve CO2 emissions per unit transported.
During port stays, the vessel only uses the electricity stored in mega lithium batteries with a total power of 5 MWh. These are recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350 sqm of solar panels. (sh)