Grimaldi is planning to introduce a new vessel on the Malta route by 2020, which will double the trailer capacity to just over 500 units.
With the cost of oil creeping up again, the company has its eye on expenditure and the 12 new Ro-Ro cargo vessels ordered will use as much fuel as those used now which have half the capacity.
They will also have lithium batteries installed – the size of four containers – so that emissions in port will be reduced to zero, while scrubbers will remove sulphur from the ships’ exhaust, resulting in pollution reduction of 40 per cent.
Executive manager Eugenio Grimaldi told The Sunday Times of Malta that the new vessel was just one of the shipping line’s investments, which amount to over €5 billion over the past 10 years.
“The decarbonisation trend is set, no matter how cheap oil will be. That partly explains why efficient operators deploy bigger and bigger vessels in all sectors of shipping, betting on economies of scale and sharply reducing emissions/ton transported,” he said, adding that sustainability was much more than just a buzz word nowadays.
Old and obsolete ships, zero investment policies and high fuel consumption are not an option any more
“Old and obsolete ships, zero investment policies and high fuel consumption are not an option within today’s business environment.”
The investment has not been limited to ships and the Italian company has also acquired terminals and expanded its trailer handling projects. Grimaldi’s profits have been steady at 10 per cent of turnover, and it is now primarily financing itself through its own means.
He was in Malta for a company convention which was on the theme of ‘Together we’re better’, the second held on the island.
The move to larger ships is also having an impact on routes, with greater rationalisation of hubs. Traffic to the southern European ports grew by 16 per cent in the first months of 2017, he said.
Grimaldi now operates 150 ships over 120 routes, employing 14,000 staff. The Malta Motorways of the Sea brand set up in 2005 has a fleet of six vessels, operating 42 weekly sailings. Over 100 cadets were trained on its vessels through a collaboration with Mcast.
It is represented in Malta by Sullivan Maritime Ltd.
While in Malta, Malta Motorways of the Sea signed a renewal of a partnership agreement with the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, which has been ongoing since 2006.