Substantial investments
Sustainability was at the heart of Grimaldi’s XXIV Euro-Med Convention, held in Valencia. It focused on investment in new technologies for newbuildings as well as vessels already in the fleet, and on intermodal and other strategic measures. According to managing director Emanuele Grimaldi the shipping industry has all the opportunities to make a difference. “We’re not the problem; we can be the solution.”
In April this year the Naples-based Italian Grimaldi Group took over Spain’s Trasmediterránea group. The move covered five ro-pax units and two terminals in the ports of Valencia and Barcelona, as well as branch offices on the Spanish islands of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza.
The fact that the recent XXIV Euro-Med Convention, hosted by Grimaldi, took place in Spain was thus completely logical. In Valencia the Neapolitan executive team took the opportunity to underline that they all want to “respect the Trasmediterránea brand’s long tradition and continue to work with all of the line’s employees, vessels and routes.”
On top of this eight ships regularly ply their trade between the Italian boot and the Spanish fist under the Grimaldi flag. These lines will be further developed, also from an ecological point of view.
Mastering the crisis with resilience
María Pérez Herrero, the Generalitat Valenciana’s autonomous secretary for public works, transport and sustainable mobility, was particularly pleased to hear of this commitment. She joined the Italian ambassador to Spain, Riccardo Guariglia, in personally welcoming the participants.
In his introductory remarks group managing director Emanuele Grimaldi looked back at the two years 2020 and 2021 in toto – as the 2020 convention was cancelled on account of measures taken to counter the outbreak of Covid-19. He was proud to report that the difficult year of 2020 was managed “without a single redundancy and without any subsidies” – even though the group’s sales declined by around EUR 500 million.
All the signs point to “reasonable profits” in 2021, however, even if it saw 300,000 less passengers use the services, compared to 2019. 2021, in contrast, will be “the year of the container” – Grimaldi’s trans-Atlantic line ACL, amongst others, is likely to report a record result.
It’s clear that Grimaldi has made the best of these two years to make comprehensive investments in the ecological sustainability of its operations. Twelve newbuildings joined its fleet in the last 24 months alone; with another 20 due to be delivered by 2025.
The future is green
Grimaldi’s programme includes four vessels in the GG5G class (Grimaldi green 5th generation); they create about 50% less emissions, compared to their predecessors. The scheme also includes new Finnlines hybrid ferries, for example, as well as six new con-ro units that can transport 2,000 boxes and 5,000 lane metres of ro-ro cargo. These con-ro vessels will also cut emissions by 43% compared to the ships of the previous generation. Alternative fuels, such as ammonia will be deployed for new multipurpose vehicle transportation solutions, for example.
The expansion flanks a programme of around 220 sustainable retrofitting measures for Grimaldi’s fleet. The company is set to invest approximately EUR 600 million in this scheme over the next two years. The range of measures covers filters, silicon paint for ships’ hulls that goes easier on the environment, batteries for electric engines in ports and improved power systems.
Discussing international solutions
The panel discussions in Valencia showed that the Grimaldi Group isn’t alone. Kurt Bodewig also underlined the ecological character of the motorways of the seas, and Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, president of the IMO World Maritime University in Malmö, emphasised the importance of training in logistics, especially of women, to realise the implementation of the IMO’s sustainability goals. Guido Grimaldi advocated the value of intermodality for sustainable transport strategies, as promoted by the Associazione Logistica dell’Intermodalità Sostenibile (Alis), a pan-European association for sustainable intermodal logistics operations.
