LOI for lengthening Grimaldi's Cruise Roma class ferries

Both vessels of Grimaldi's Cruise Roma class are planned to be lengthened at Fincantieri (Illustration: Grimaldi)
Construction of the two new 29m-long mid-body sections to be fitted to the vessels in the lengthening will begin in 2018, and completion of the work at Palermo shipyard is scheduled in summer 2019. The new sections will contain about 600 additional lane meters of RoRo space for heavy vehicles, 80 beds in new passenger cabins, two new public spaces with a total capacity of 450 Pullman beds and a new family self-service restaurant with about 270 seats. The two vessels were built by Fincantieri in 2007 and 2008. Before the lengthening work they are 225m long, carry about 3,000 passengers, have a 2,400sq.m car deck and 3,000 lane meters for heavy vehicles. Safety equipment of the ship will be implemented in order to manage the increased passenger transport capacity. At the end of the lengthening project, to be carried out by Fincantieri’s Ship Repair and Conversion division, each ship will be about 254m long, be about 63,000gt and being able to transport 3,500 passengers, with a 3,000sq.m car deck and over 3,700 lane meters for heavy vehicles. The vessels will also be fitted with a scrubber system for the exhaust gas cleaning as well as a system to power the ship during the turnaround time in ports, based on mega-lithium batteries. This is to avoid the use of the diesel-powered generators in port, achieving the goal of zero port emissions, pursued by the Grimaldi Group.