The Grimaldi Group has selected Silverstream Technologies to supply air lubrication systems (ALS) for nine ro-pax ferries at China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyard. It is the largest ro-pax order ever awarded to the company, and includes four vessels for Grimaldi Lines, a pair for Minoan Lines and three ships for Finnlines.
Silverstream’s partnership with the Grimaldi Group dates to 2018. The UK-based clean maritime technology company has 18 Grimaldi-operated vessels in service across ro-ro, ro-pax and PCTC. With this contract, its total order book with the Naples owner, whose subsidiaries include Grimaldi Lines, Minoan Lines, Finnlines and Atlantic Container Lines (ACL), rises to 35 ships.
Noah Silberschmidt, Silverstream‘s founder and CEO, said, “The Grimaldi Group has long recognized the critical role of energy-efficiency technologies in addressing maritime decarbonization, and has actively embraced the fuel-agnostic solutions that are already available. We are delighted that yet again we are a trusted efficiency partner of choice for these significant ro-pax orders.”
Dario Bocchetti, Grimaldi Group‘s head of energy saving, R&D and ship design, said that Silverstream’s ALS system has “consistently delivered fuel efficiency and emissions reduction,” adding that it had achieved a 5-6% net saving on its GG5G ro-ro.
“We are looking forward to collaborating again on these nine new-builds for our three companies, Finnlines, Minoan and Grimaldi, that will incorporate green technologies to reduce CO2 emissions per cargo unit by more than 50% compared with vessels currently operating on the same routes,” Bocchetti commented.
Ou Shubo, China Merchants Industry Weihai chief engineer, said, “The uptake of energy-efficiency technologies is accelerating across the maritime industry, and owners like the Grimaldi Group are leading the way. Ro-paxes are a specialty for CMI Weihai, and this is a significant order for nine vessels equipped with many EETs, including air lubrication.”
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