Naples-based owner will install air lubrication on vessels built at China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyard Co.

Silverstream Technologies will supply air lubrication systems  for nine RoPax newbuildings contracted by the Grimaldi Group at China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyard  further endorsing the Silverstream® System as the most trusted and operationally proven ALS in the market.

The latest order, which includes four vessels for Grimaldi Lines, a pair for Minoan Lines and three ships for Finnlines, is the largest ever RoPax order awarded to Silverstream and builds on the 15 cumulative in-service years of ALS operation across the Grimaldi fleet. The Minoan Lines’ vessels are also the first Greek-flag installations of ALS for Silverstream.

Silverstream’s partnership with the Grimaldi Group dates back to 2018 and is built on long-term verified performance, transparent performance reporting, and a solid installation record.

The London-headquartered clean maritime technology company has 18 Grimaldi- operated vessels in service across RoRo, RoPax and PCTC. With this contract, its total orderbook with the Naples owner, whose subsidiaries include Grimaldi Lines, Minoan Lines, Finnlines and Atlantic Container Lines (ACL), rises to 35 ships.

Silverstream has collaborated with CMI Weihai, one of the world’s leading builders of large RoPax vessels for more than six years, and this order further strengthens this long- standing partnership.

Noah Silberschmidt, Silverstream Founder and CEO said: “The Grimaldi Group has long recognised the critical role of energy eXiciency technologies in addressing maritime decarbonisation and has actively embraced the fuel-agnostic solutions that are already available. We are delighted that yet again we are a trusted eXiciency partner of choice for these significant RoPax orders.”

Dario Bocchetti, Grimaldi Group Head of Energy Saving, R&D and Ship Design, said:

“Our partnership with Silverstream extends back nearly eight years and using their ALS system has consistently delivered improved fuel eXiciency and emissions reduction. For example, we have achieved 5-6% net savings for our GG5G Ro-Ro fleet. We are thrilled to collaborate again on these nine newbuilds that will incorporate green technologies to reduce CO2 emissions per cargo unit by more than 50% compared to vessels currently operating on the same routes.”

Ou Shubo, China Merchants Industry Weihai chief engineer said: “The uptake of energy eXiciency technologies is accelerating across the maritime industry and owners like the Grimaldi Group are leading the way. RoPaxes are a speciality for CMI Weihai and this significant order for nine vessels equipped with many EETs, including air lubrication.”