Celebrations for Great Abidjan's maiden call and Grimaldi Côte d'Ivoire's 10th anniversary

Two milestones in the Grimaldi Group’s history in Côte d’Ivoire were recently celebrated in the Port of Abidjan: the maiden call of the vessel Great Abidjan and the 10^th anniversary of Grimaldi Côte d’Ivoire.

The Great Abidjan is the fourth of six G5-class ro-ro multipurpose vessels, boasting a length of 250 metres, beam of 38 metres and deadweight of 45,684 tonnes. Her design is the result of a meticulous study of the needs of the Grimaldi Group and its customers. With an innovative and fully customized internal configuration, this G5-class ship can transport 4,700 linear metres of rolling freight, 2,500 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) and 2,000 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units). This represents a significant enhancement compared to the previous G4-class, as the new vessels offer double the container capacity while maintaining the same capacity for rolling freight.

Beyond her impressive loading capacity, the Great Abidjan also incorporates numerous cutting-edge, technological solutions aimed at boosting energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact. Thanks to these advancements, the vessel can reduce CO₂ emissions per tonne transported by up to 43% compared to other Grimaldi con-ro multipurpose ships.

The celebration for the Great Abidjan’s maiden call in the port she is named after coincided with the 10^th anniversary of Grimaldi Côte d’Ivoire, the Grimaldi Group’s exclusive agent in the African country. The company currently employs 37 Ivorian professionals, and has supported the growth of Grimaldi Lines in the ports of Abidjan and San Pédro over the last ten years.

Grimaldi Côte d’Ivoire Managing Director Vincent Grimler and Grimaldi Group Deep Sea Lines Deputy Director Giuseppe Patané welcomed key stakeholders from the port community and some of the Grimaldi Group’s major customers, who gathered in Abidjan on 17 July.

The event was further honoured by the presence of Amadou Kone, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Transport, and Hien Sie Yacouba, Director General of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan. In their speeches, both welcomed the arrival of the Great Abidjan as a further sign of the Grimaldi Group's commitment to port sustainability and innovation in Abidjan.

They also highlighted the importance of the Grimaldi Group and Grimaldi Côte d’Ivoire as key partners of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan and other port stakeholders, particularly in the development of its ro-ro terminal. Indeed, having become the exclusive concessionaire of the only ro-ro terminal in the Ivorian port in 2020, the Grimaldi Group subsidiary Terminal Roulier d'Abidjan (TERRA) has implemented its infrastructural development.

Hien Sie Yacouba praised the Italian company for its significant contribution to ro-ro traffic in Abidjan, which accounted for 66.4% of the total in 2023, underscoring its crucial role in the regional economy.

Amadou Kone also noted the significant growth in port traffic due to the shipping group’s ongoing investments, with a remarkable increase in particular in 2023, and emphasized Grimaldi Côte d’Ivoire’s pivotal role in economic and port development. On behalf of the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara and Government, the Minister of Transport expressed gratitude to the Grimaldi Group for its vital support in modernizing port infrastructure, especially the Abidjan ro-ro terminal. In closing, he pledged the Government's continuous support for initiatives aimed at bolstering the city's status as a vital regional economic hub.

The Abidjan ro-ro terminal was developed according to the highest infrastructural and management standards, and represents an important gateway not only for the needs of Côte d’Ivoire, but also for the logistics corridor to landlocked countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso.

The Grimaldi Group currently serves the port of Abidjan with a weekly, direct con-ro link from Northern Europe, and every 9 days with a service to and from the Western Mediterranean. In addition, through the Salerno (Italy), Dakar (Senegal) and Tenerife (Canary Islands) hubs, the Ivorian port is also connected in transhipment with ports in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as North and South America. Besides Abidjan, the Group's vessels also call at the Ivorian port of San Pédro, the biggest in the world for cocoa exports.