Fincantieri and the Grimaldi Group have signed a letter of intent (LoI) to lengthen and refurbish the cruise ferries ‘Cruise Roma’ and ‘Cruise Barcelona’.
The construction of the two mid-body sections will begin this year, while the completion of the work at the Palermo shipyard is due during the following summer.
The two vessels, currently in service on the daily route between Civitavecchia- Porto Torres-Barcelona were built by Fincantieri’s Castellammare di Stabia shipyard and delivered to Grimaldi in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
They are 225 m long, with a gross tonnage of 54,000 and capacity to transport about 3,000 pax, with a 2,400 sq m car deck and around 3,000 linear metres for heavy vehicles.
After the lengthening, the vessels will have about 600 additional linear meters for heavy vehicles, 80 more sleeping berths in new passenger cabins, two new public spaces with a total capacity of 450 Pullman beds and a new family-oriented 270-seat self-service restaurant. The new sections will each be 29 metres long.
Existing public areas will also be refurbished and safety equipment upgraded to comply with the increased passenger capacity.
Technical work during the drydockings will include the installation of scrubber systems for exhaust gas cleaning, as well as a system to power the ship during the turnaround time in ports, based on mega-lithium batteries, in order to avoid the use of the diesel-powered generators, thus achieving the goal of zero port emissions, pursued by the Grimaldi Group.
When the lengthening project is completed, which is to be carried out by Fincantieri’s Ship Repair and Conversion department, part of its Services division, each ship will be about 254 m long, with a gross tonnage of 63,000 and will be able to accommodate 3,500 passengers, with a 3,000 sq m car deck and over 3,700 linear metres for heavy vehicles.
