Neapolitan shipowner Grimaldi Group is set to announce the start of a new tender round for Asian shipbuilders, with orders for nine new ro-ro vessels scheduled to be signed between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025.
The news came directly from the group’s administrator, Emanuele Grimaldi, who revealed in an interview with the Italian press in April this year that the group was about to launch an international tender for shipbuilders for “passenger ro-ro ferries to be constructed in China, the most competitive country for such ferries is undoubtedly China. Emanuele Grimaldi adds that there would be nine vessels, three of which would be destined for Finnlines (similar to the last two of the recently delivered Superstar vessels), two for Minos, and three for Grimaldi Euromediterranean”.
It is understood that the value of each new vessel will be around 150 million euros, so the order will exceed 1 billion euros. The Grimaldi Group has recently launched a tender to send the technical characteristics of the new project to a shortlist of selected shipbuilders in order for the builder to make an offer. After a gradual screening of the candidates and the arrival of a short list of shipbuilders, the signing of the new order could arrive between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025.
Industry insiders believe that these Chinese shipbuilders have the strength to build luxury ro-ro vessels with rich experience, namely: China Merchants Jingling Shipyard (Weihai) Co. Ltd., Guangzhou Shipbuilding International, China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Nanjing) Co. Ltd., China Merchants Industry (Haimen), Jiangnan Shipbuilding, CIMC Raffles etc.
Founded in 1947, the Grimaldi Group is a private Italian ship owner owned by the Grimaldi family and headquartered in Naples, Italy. Grimaldi Group’s business scope covers shipping, terminals, logistics, etc., and it is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive multinational logistics groups.
The Grimaldi Group has a fleet of 17 new PCTCs (pure car and track carrier) , each with a capacity of 10,000 vehicles. In addition to these, there are another 2 Ro-Ro vessels under construction at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Nanjing), which are sister vessels to the other 10 Ro-Ro vessels already delivered, belonging to the GG5G series.