Grimaldi expands fleet with ammonia-ready Grande Melbourne

Italian shipping player Grimaldi Group has welcomed another ammonia-ready pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) newbuild, Grande Melbourne, into the fleet.

Grande Melbourne, the third in a series of seven PCTCs built by subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), was officially named and delivered at the port of Shanghai on October 22.

As part of its maiden voyage on the Grimaldi Group’s Asia-Europe service, Grande Melbourne is scheduled to depart from Asia later this month

The vessel features a length of 200 meters, a beam of 38 meters, and a loading capacity of 9,241 CEU, designed to transport vehicles, both electric and powered by traditional fuels, as well as any other type of rolling cargo.

The PCTC is equipped with an electronic engine, which is said to offer one of the lowest specific fuel consumptions in its class and complies with the most stringent international limits for CO2, NOx, and SOx emissions.

In particular, Grande Melbourne is expected to reduce the CO2 emissions index per transported cargo by up to 50% compared to previous-generation PCTC vessels.

Additionally, the ship received the “Ammonia Ready” class notation from