Grimaldi adds Patras call to its Trieste-Ambarli ro-ro line
The
Group's vast Motorways of the Sea offering is further expanded and enhanced,
providing increasing opportunities for the transport of rolling freight between
Italy, Greece and Turkey.
Naples, 21 October 2024: Just over a month after its launch, the Grimaldi Group's Trieste-Ambarli ro-ro route will be enhanced with an intermediate call at the port of Patras. This strategic development will not only establish a direct connection between Greece and Turkey, but will also make the connections between these countries and Italy even more extensive and efficient.
The new Trieste-Patras-Ambarli service will become
fully operational starting on October 23 and will be operated by the sister
vessels Eco Mediterranea and Eco Malta. These hybrid ro-ro ships,
each with a transport capacity of over 500 trailers, are the most eco-friendly
in the world, as they can halve CO2 emissions per cargo unit compared
to the previous generation of ro-ro ships, and even cut them to zero during
port stays.
With two weekly departures from each of the three
ports, the Trieste-Patras-Ambarli service perfectly complements Grimaldi
Lines' network of routes. Firstly, the new direct connection between Greece and
Turkey represents an important innovation within the Motorways of the Sea
operated by the Group in the Mediterranean.
Moreover, in combination with the thrice-weekly
Venice-Bari-Patras service (also operated by two Eco-class vessels) and
through transshipment at the Greek port, the route will extend its reach to
southern Italy, enabling the easy movement of rolling cargo to and from Turkey
via the Apulian port. On the other hand, Venice will serve as another gateway
for rolling freight transported between northern Italy and Turkey via the same
transshipment mode.
Ultimately, for the Italian Group’s clients, the two
sides of the Adriatic will become even closer: four Eco-class vessels
will operate between northern Italy (Venice, Trieste) and Greece (Patras),
providing a total of five weekly departures in both directions – on
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
"The new Trieste-Patras-Ambarli route is yet
another demonstration of the great potential of the Motorways of the Sea
network offered by our Group. With the addition of one port of call, the scope
of a service expands exponentially, leveraging the reach, frequency, and
efficiency of our connections as a whole," said the Neapolitan group’s
Managing Director Emanuele Grimaldi. "We continue our commitment
towards increasingly efficient maritime transport, benefiting our customers and
promoting sustainability. In this regard, a third sister ship of Eco
Mediterranea and Eco Malta, recently launched at the Jinling shipyards in
China, will soon be deployed on this route between Italy and Turkey, and the
addition of a fourth Eco-class vessel is not ruled out," concluded
Emanuele Grimaldi.