Grimaldi Group has taken delivery of Grande Egitto, a pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) built by China Merchants Heavy Industries Jiangsu.

The vessel is the fourteenth ammonia-ready unit in Grimaldi's fleet. Together with her sister ship, Grande Pacifico, which entered service last month, Grande Egitto holds the record as the largest PCTC in the Grimaldi fleet.

The ship measures 220 metres in length, has a 38-metre beam, a gross tonnage of 95,534 tonnes and a service speed of 18 knots. Her 15 decks provide cargo capacity for 9,800 CEU. In addition to carrying electric and conventionally fuelled vehicles, the vessel is designed to transport vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).

RINA, the Italian Shipping Register, has awarded Grande Egitto the Ammonia Ready class notation, which certifies that the vessel can be converted to run on ammonia as an alternative fuel. The ship has also received additional class notations, including Green Plus, Green Star 3, Comfort Vibration and Comfort Noise Port.

According to Grimaldi, the environmental technologies installed on board allow Grande Egitto to reduce fuel consumption by 50% compared with previous-generation car carriers. The vessel is equipped with lithium batteries with a total capacity of 5 MWh, and it is designed for shore-power connection at suitably equipped ports, allowing the ship to achieve zero emissions while berthed.

Other energy-efficiency features include 2,500 square metres of solar panels, energy-management systems, silicone hull coatings intended to reduce drag, an air-lubrication system, an optimised hull design and a gate rudder, designed to improve both propulsion efficiency and manoeuvrability.

The vessel's electronically controlled main engine is fitted with exhaust-gas treatment systems intended to reduce emissions of sulphur oxides, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, with the latter said to fall below IMO Tier III limits.

The vessel's maiden voyage is due to begin next week on the Asia–East Africa service, connecting markets in the Far East with commercial hubs in East Africa. Grande Egitto will load 4,150 cars and 6,200 linear metres of rolling freight — including excavators, buses and trucks — at the Asian ports of Taicang in China and Yokohama and Nagoya in Japan, before sailing to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Mombasa in Kenya.

Emanuele Grimaldi, managing director of the Grimaldi Group, commented: “With the entry into service of the Grande Egitto, we are giving a new, important boost to the expansion and modernization path of our vehicle transport fleet. This new 9,800-CEU unit represents the perfect synthesis of commercial efficiency and environmental respect. By choosing to deploy it on the Asia–East Africa route, we want to provide a concrete response to the demands of an increasingly dynamic market, offering our customers regular, flexible maritime connections characterized by the lowest possible environmental impact.”