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Italy-based shipping company Grimaldi Group has added a new next-generation vehicle carrier to its fleet, naming the ship Grande Istanbul to underline its long-standing port links with Türkiye. Built in China, the vessel is designed to operate on the company’s East Asia–Basra Gulf route and has been prepared for future use of ammonia as a marine fuel.
Grande Istanbul is the fourth of seven pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) vessels ordered by the group. The ship is about 200 meters long and has a gross tonnage of 77,500, offering a capacity of up to 9,241 vehicles.
It has four special decks that can carry different types of cargo, including passenger cars, SUVs, vans and heavy loads, which allows the company to handle mixed shipments on the same route more efficiently.
The naming and delivery ceremony took place on Nov. 28 in Shanghai. Senior figures from the Chinese shipbuilder and its partners attended, including Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) vice president Zhang Wei, Grimaldi Group executive Luigi Pacella Grimaldi and representatives of Chinese machinery producer SANY.
SANY Group vice president Chunyan Yuan formally named Grande Istanbul during the event.
Grande Istanbul is scheduled to start its maiden voyage within days. The ship will sail from the Chinese ports of Taicang and Ningbo, transporting more than 2,000 cars, close to 1,000 vans and over 4,800 meters of other cargo to Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates.
This deployment is expected to strengthen Grimaldi’s services along the East Asia–Basra Gulf corridor by adding more capacity for vehicle and project cargo movements between Chinese hubs and one of the Gulf region’s key ports.
Grimaldi Group CEO Emanuele Grimaldi stated that the introduction of modern and environmentally friendly ships has helped raise service quality on the company’s Asian routes. He also pointed out that choosing the name Grande Istanbul draws attention to the group’s long-running port connections with Türkiye, which have developed over many years.
Grande Istanbul has been designed so that its propulsion system can be converted in the future to run on ammonia, a potential low-carbon marine fuel. According to the company, its advanced engine and high loading capacity allow it to cut CO2 emissions per unit of cargo by up to 50% compared with older generations of PCTC vessels.
The ship is also equipped for “cold ironing”, a technology that lets a vessel draw electricity from the shore while in port. By using land-based power instead of running its engines at berth, Grande Istanbul is expected to support more environmentally responsible operations in ports along its route.
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