The Grimaldi Group has taken delivery in Shanghai of the Grande Melbourne, the third in a series of seven next-generation pure car and truck carriers built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Company Limited and China Shipbuilding Trading Company Limited, both subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. The delivery ceremony took place on 22 October 2025, attended by representatives of the Chinese shipbuilder, Luigi Pacella Grimaldi on behalf of the Neapolitan group, Xu Huayan, director of Shanghai Haitong International Automotive Terminal, and Swedish manufacturer Scania, a long-standing commercial partner of Grimaldi.
At 200 metres in length, 38 metres in width and with a gross tonnage of around 77,500 tonnes, the Grande Melbourne is designed to carry both electric and conventional vehicles as well as other rolling cargo. The vessel has a total capacity of 9,241 car equivalent units, with four strengthened decks capable of accommodating heavy vehicles weighing up to 250 tonnes and standing up to 6.5 metres high.
Equipped with a state-of-the-art electronically controlled engine, the ship achieves among the lowest specific fuel consumptions in its class while complying with the most stringent international limits on CO2, NOX and SOX emissions. The optimised cargo capacity and advanced design solutions make it possible to cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 50% compared with earlier models. Classified as Ammonia Ready by the Italian Naval Register, the Grande Melbourne can in future be converted to run on ammonia as a zero-emission alternative fuel. It is also equipped for shore power supply while berthed.
Deployed on the regular Asia–Europe service, the vessel will depart at the end of October from the ports of Taicang, Xiaomo and Laem Chabang bound for Northern European and Mediterranean terminals, including Southampton, Antwerp, Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Setúbal and Tanger Med, before continuing towards the Indian Ocean and the Far East. On its maiden voyage, it will carry around 5,900 cars and 800 linear metres of rolling cargo, including construction machinery and buses destined for European markets.
The Grande Melbourne is named after the Australian port that has been part of the group’s monthly Europe–Oceania line since 2023. Its addition to the fleet forms part of Grimaldi’s renewal programme aimed at reducing environmental impact and improving the efficiency of ro-ro and car carrier services on major global routes. “The group’s new PCTCs are setting a new benchmark for vehicle transport between Asia, Europe and Oceania,” said CEO Emanuele Grimaldi, highlighting the continued cooperation with Chinese shipyards and long-standing customers such as Scania.
