GRANDE EUROPA – IMO 9138381

Veteran Grimaldi Euro-Med Vehicle and Ro-Ro Carrier

GRANDE EUROPA is a large Italian vehicle and multipurpose Ro-Ro carrier built by Fincantieri at Castellammare di Stabia in 1998 for the Grimaldi Group.

Delivered in March 1998, she was the first of a new generation of highly flexible Grimaldi Euro-Med vessels designed to carry cars, trucks, trailers, containers and project cargo simultaneously.

Almost three decades later, GRANDE EUROPA remains under the same name, the same Italian flag and the same Grimaldi commercial identity.

Despite the arrival of a new generation of much larger 9,000–9,800 CEU Grimaldi PCTCs, the 1998-built vessel remains fully active in 2026, now regularly employed between Northern Europe and West Africa.

Vessel Details

Name: GRANDE EUROPA

IMO: 9138381

MMSI: 247206000

Call Sign: ICGE

Type: Vehicle Carrier / Ro-Ro / Multipurpose Carrier

Flag: Italy

Port of Registry: Palermo

Built: 1998

Builder: Fincantieri – Castellammare di Stabia, Italy

Yard Number: 5987

Delivered: 12 March 1998

Owner / Manager: Grimaldi Euromed S.p.A. / Grimaldi Group

Class: RINA

Historical Gross Tonnage: 51,714 GT

Current AIS / Port Register GT: approx. 51,823 GT

Deadweight: 18,461 t

Length Overall: approx. 181.2–183.3 m depending on registry convention

Beam: 32.25 m

Draught: 9.40 m

Container Capacity: approx. 716–750 TEU

Maximum Car Capacity: approx. 4,650 cars

Cargo Decks: 11

Main Engine: Sulzer 7RTA62U

Current Published Power: approx. 15,545 kW

Historical Design Speed: approx. 20–21 knots

Current Status: Active.

Built at Castellammare di Stabia

GRANDE EUROPA was constructed by:

Fincantieri

at:

Castellammare di Stabia.

Her yard number was:

5987.

She was delivered to Grimaldi in:

March 1998.

The vessel was followed by closely related ships including:

GRANDE MEDITERRANEO

and:

GRAN BRETAGNA.

A Major Grimaldi Investment

When introduced, GRANDE EUROPA represented a major technological and capacity increase for the Grimaldi:

Euro-Med Service.

Contemporary Grimaldi material described the new ships as among the most technologically advanced Ro-Ro units then operating between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.

11 Cargo Decks

GRANDE EUROPA was designed with:

11 cargo decks,

including movable / hoistable sections.

A sophisticated internal ramp system allowed the ship to carry different types of cargo simultaneously.

This included:

cars,

commercial vehicles,

trailers,

containers,

heavy Ro-Ro cargo,

and project vehicles.

4,650 Cars

The original maximum theoretical vehicle capacity was approximately:

4,650 passenger cars.

Alternatively, the ship could carry large volumes of:

Ro-Ro freight

and:

containers.

Contemporary specifications gave approximately:

3,320 lane metres

or:

750 TEU

under alternative cargo configurations.

Modern port databases give:

716 TEU,

which reflects the current registered container-capacity convention.

Flexible Cargo Mix

One reason GRANDE EUROPA has remained commercially useful for so long is that she is not restricted to carrying cars alone.

Her configuration allows Grimaldi to combine:

new vehicles,

commercial vehicles,

trailers,

containers,

machinery,

and oversized project cargo.

That flexibility differentiates the vessel from many pure car carriers designed almost exclusively around vehicle decks.

Main Engine

GRANDE EUROPA is powered by a:

Sulzer 7RTA62U

low-speed diesel.

Current Hamburg port information gives propulsion power of approximately:

15,545 kW.

Historical figures quote service speeds around:

20–21 knots.

Piraeus Connection

Piraeus formed part of the original:

Grimaldi Euro-Med network.

Contemporary company descriptions of the service listed Piraeus alongside ports including:

Antwerp

Southampton

Alexandria

Limassol

Ashdod

Izmir

Palermo

and:

Salerno.

GRANDE EUROPA therefore has a genuine historical relationship with the port rather than merely an isolated modern call.

Almost Three Decades with the Same Name

One of the striking elements of the vessel's history is continuity.

She has remained:

GRANDE EUROPA

throughout her career.

She also remains:

Italian flagged

and associated with:

Grimaldi.

That degree of continuity is increasingly unusual for a cargo vessel approaching three decades of service.

51,714 or 51,823 GT?

The original PiraeuShips profile gives:

51,714 GT.

This is also the historical Grimaldi / shipbuilding figure.

Current VesselFinder and Port of Hamburg databases instead show:

51,823 GT.

The updated profile should therefore preserve:

51,714 GT as the historical registered figure

while noting that current databases use approximately:

51,823 GT.

Current Trade – Europe and West Africa

GRANDE EUROPA remains in normal commercial service during:

2026.

The Port of Hamburg recorded a call on:

11 July 2026.

Her present route network includes ports such as:

Hamburg

Le Havre

Leixões

Dakar

Nouakchott

Conakry

Lomé

Luanda

Pointe-Noire

Douala

and:

Antwerp.

September AIS records also showed the vessel moving between:

Antwerp

and:

Dakar.

A New Generation Arrives

The contrast with Grimaldi's current newbuildings is striking.

The group's latest PCTCs delivered in 2026 are around:

220 metres long

and carry:

9,000–9,800 CEU.

GRANDE EUROPA therefore represents an earlier generation of Grimaldi vehicle logistics — but one that remains useful enough to continue trading beside ships almost twice her original car capacity.

PiraeuShips in 2026

PiraeuShips published the dedicated:

GRANDE EUROPA – IMO 9138381

entry in:

March 2026.

The original page recorded:

Italian flag

1998 build

approximately:

183 m length

51,714 GT

and:

Grimaldi Euromed ownership and management.

PiraeuShips Record

GRANDE EUROPA was recorded by PiraeuShips during the remarkably long career of one of Grimaldi's original large Euro-Med multipurpose vehicle carriers. Delivered by Fincantieri at Castellammare di Stabia in March 1998, the ship was designed around 11 highly flexible cargo decks capable of carrying cars, trucks, trailers, containers and project cargo in different combinations. Originally capable of accommodating up to approximately 4,650 cars or around 750 TEU depending on configuration, GRANDE EUROPA helped establish a generation of Grimaldi Euro-Med services linking Piraeus and the Mediterranean with Northern Europe. Still sailing under the Italian flag and retaining her original name in 2026, she now continues regular Grimaldi operations between Europe and West Africa, making her a rare example of almost three decades of uninterrupted identity and service with the same shipping group.

Kind of ships