The Grimaldi Group has added the Greek port of Patras to the Trieste-Ambarli line. The expansion comes just one month after the new ro-ro line between Italy and Turkey was opened.
According to the company, the new stop will not only create a direct link between Greece and Turkey, but also make the connections between the two countries and Italy more comprehensive and efficient.
The new Trieste-Patras-Ambarli service will be launched on 23 October and will be operated by the sister ships “Eco Mediterranea” and “Eco Malta”. According to Grimaldi, both hybrid ro-ro vessels, each with a transport capacity of over 500 CEU, are among the “most environmentally friendly in the world”, as they can halve CO2 emissions per loading unit compared to the previous generation of ro-ro vessels and even reduce them to zero while in port.
Grimaldi offers more departures
There will be two departures a week from each of the three ports, Grimaldi announced. In combination with the thrice-weekly Venice-Bari-Patras service (also with two eco-class vessels), this will extend the reach to southern Italy and enable easy transportation of rolling cargo to and from Turkey via the Apulian port.
For the Italian Group’s customers, the two sides of the Adriatic will move even closer together: four Eco-class vessels will operate between northern Italy (Venice, Trieste) and Greece (Patras) and offer a total of five weekly departures in both directions – on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
“The new Trieste-Patras-Ambarli route is further proof of the great potential of the network of motorways of the sea offered by our Group,” said CEO Emanuele Grimaldi. “With the new port, the scope of our service will expand exponentially, increasing the overall reach, frequency and efficiency of our connections.” The company is committed to more efficient maritime transport in order to promote sustainability. Another sister ship, which was recently launched in Jinling, China, will therefore soon be deployed on the route. We are not ruling out a fourth ship either,” says Grimaldi.
