This is the fourth of six brand-new multipurpose ro-ro ships. She will soon be deployed to transport rolling freight and containers between Northern Europe and West Africa.

 The Great Abidjan has joined the Grimaldi Group’s increasingly large and modern fleet. She is the fourth of six multipurpose ro-ro units belonging to the innovative “G5” class and commissioned from the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd shipyard in Ulsan (South Korea). On 23 April, the naming and delivery ceremony of the new ship took place at the South Korean shipyard.

The event was attended, among others, by Diego Pacella, President of Grimaldi Deep Sea S.p.A., Amelia Grimaldi and the Italian shipping company’s Euromed & Far East/Europe Line Manager Luigi Pacella Grimaldi; Hyung Kwan Kim, Eui Sung Yoon and Sang Ho Jin – respectively President, Executive Vice President and Vice President of Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd – represented the shipyard at the event. The Italian Ambassador to Seoul Emilia Gatto acted as the godmother of the vessel; after the ceremony, she highlighted the importance of commercial relations between Italy and South Korea and thanked both companies for providing an excellent example of partnership between the two countries.

With length of 250 metres, beam of 38 metres and deadweight of 45,684 tonnes, the design of the Great Abidjan is the result of a careful study of the needs of the Group and its customers: thanks to an innovative and completely customized internal configuration, the G5-class ships are able to transport 4,700 linear metres of rolling freight, 2,500 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) and 2,000 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units). Compared to the previous G4-class, the new vessels have the same capacity for rolling freight while their container capacity is double.

In addition to loading capacity, the Great Abidjan stands out on account of her numerous cutting-edge, technological solutions aimed at increasing energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact. As a result, the vessel enables a reduction of CO2 emissions per tonne transported of up to 43% compared to other Grimaldi con-ro multipurpose ships.

 “The Great Abidjan is the outcome of a long and fruitful co-operation with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard which may continue in the future for the renewal of our existing fleet”, stated Diego Pacella, President of Grimaldi Deep Sea S.p.A. “Named after a port that has been regularly included in the routes served by our Group for years, the vessel will be deployed, like her three sister vessels already in operation, on our deepsea connections between Northern Europe and West Africa”, concluded Diego Pacella.