Grimaldi launches the m/v “Grande Senegal”

On the 12th of September, the ceremony of launch of the multipurpose ro/ro vessel Grande Senegal, ordered by the Grimaldi Group (Naples), took place at the Uljanik shipyard of Pula (Croatia).

Godmother of the vessel was Mrs Sady, wife to the Chief Executive Officer of the Autonomous
Port Authority of Dakar Mr. Bara Sady, main port of Senegal, the nation after which the vessel is named. Among others, a high level delegation of Senegalese authorities participated at the ceremony.

With a length of 210.92 metres, a width of 32.26 metres, a gross tonnage of 47,300 tonnes and a service speed of 21 knots, the Grande Senegal has an ideal cargo intake of 2,000 cars/vans, 2,000 linear metres of rolling cargo and 800 Teus.

The Grande Senegal is designed to offer the maximum of flexibility in terms of intake capacity and type of cargo loaded. The height of its main decks allows the loading of heavy and out of gauge rolling equipment such as trucks, tractors, double-deck buses, big earthmoving equipment, etc. The vessel’s sophisticated system of internal ramps, fixed and hoistable, optimizes the cargo mix while its quarter stern ramp allows the loading of cargo units with a weight of up to 250 tonnes. Its two cranes on the weather deck are able to lift units (containers and general cargo) with a weight of up to 40 tonnes.

The Grande Senegal will be delivered in December and will strengthen the Group’s regular
services linking North Europe to Central/West Africa.

“The Grimaldi Group has a long term commitment towards Senegal”, said the joint managing
director Gianluca Grimaldi while speaking to the guests gathered at the ceremony. “We started serving Dakar 20 years ago with only one monthly call, and now this port is the Atlantic “hub” of our deep sea network with about 220 calls expected for 2009 and a total of 146 people employed”.

The Grande Senegal is a fourth in a series of seven sister vessels ordered by the Group to
Uljanik.

 
(Source: Transport Weekly)