MAN Energy Solutions has won the order to supply 18 × MAN B&W 9S50ME-C9.6 TIER II-compliant main engines for 9 × 7,800 lane-metre RoRo vessels intended for operation in the Mediterranean Sea. The customer is the Grimaldi Group, the Naples, Italy-based shipping company and leading operator within the RoRo segment.
MAN Energy Solutions' two-stroke licensee - Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (Engine & Machinery Business Unit) - will build the engines in Korea, while Jiangsu Jinling Shipyard Co. Ltd. will construct the vessels in Nanjing, China. Delivery of the first vessels is expected from 2020.
MAN will also supply 1 × MAN TCA66 turbocharger for each engine. The new RoRos are the first examples of a new series of hybrid vessels, which will use fuel oil during navigation and lithium mega-batteries in harbour, thus guaranteeing 'zero emissions in port' while still satisfying energy requirements at berth. The batteries will be recharged during navigation through shaft generators adding the so-called peak shaving system.
The new RoRos are part of what Grimaldi calls its "Green 5th Generation" that represents a significant expansion and modernisation of the company's fleet. They will have a length of 238 metres, a beam of 34 metres and a gross tonnage of 64,000 tonnes with a loading capacity double that of the Neapolitan group's current, largest such vessel and triple that of its previous generation of RoRo ships. The MAN B&W ME-C engines - as part of the hybrid propulsion set-up - will enable a 100% increase in efficiency when measured in terms of consumption/ton of freight transported, compared to Grimaldi's existing vessels.
ABOUT GRIMALDI
Established in 1947, Grimaldi is a fully integrated multinational logistics group specialising in the maritime transport of cars, rolling cargo, containers and passengers. Wholly owned by the Grimaldi family, the Naples-based group has a fleet of 120 RoRos, RoRo multipurpose, PCTCs, Ro/Pax and cruise ferries, a network of 21 terminals and employs 15,000 people worldwide.