Grande Argentina News

The launching ceremony for the Grimaldi-Naples new RoRo occurred on September 6 at Fincantieri with Iliana Grimaldia, the wife of Emanuel Grimaldi the managing director of Grimaldi-Naples Group, serving as the vessel’s Godmother. Grande Amburgo is the fifth of a series consisting of Grande Europa, Gran Bretagna, Grande Mediterraneo and Grande Francia all of which were built at Fincantieri’s yard at Castellammare di Stabia. In little more than five years and in addition to Grande Amburgo, Grimaldi-Naples Group has ordered 12 ships from Fincantieri.

Salvage and towage companies Multraship and URS have successfully refloated two grounded vessels in the past week in the River Scheldt. On April 10, the Swedish-flag RoRo car carrier Grande Argentina ran aground off Terneuzen. The vessel, operated by Grimaldi Lines, was enroute from Antwerp when it suffered a complete black-out, ironically within view of Multraship’s headquarters in Terneuzen. Having swung hard to starboard, the vessel grounded on a sandbank. Working together, salvage teams from Multraship and URS mobilised a total of nine tugs and salvage craft to refloat the vessel in a quick and efficient operation. The salvors then escorted the vessel to Flushing, where an inspection revealed no structural damage, and the Grande Argentina was cleared to proceed with its voyage.