The first hybrid roll-on/roll-off vessel has arrived in Malta, entering the Grand Harbour on Friday morning, designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible through technology allowing it to capture its emissions and use renewable battery power while in port.

The new ship has twice the loading capacity of the previous ships used by Grimaldi Group, which is seeking to further enhance its maritime connections with the island.

The MV ECO Livorno, which called on Malta during her maiden voyage, will be joined by a second GG5G-Class RoRo vessel.

Thanks to their increased capacity and environmentally friendly features, the new ships can reduce CO2 emissions by half.

While berthed inside port, this can be cut down to zero as the vessels can use the electrical energy stored by their mega lithium batteries, which are recharged during navigation thanks to shaft generators and 350m2 of solar panels.

Moreover, they are equipped with state-of-the-art electronically controlled engines and an exhaust gas cleaning system for the abatement of sulphur and particulate emissions.

Each vessel can carry over 500 trailers as well as 180 cars, while their quarter stern ramp allows the loading of freight units weighing up to 150 tons.

The GG5G-class vessels are the biggest short sea ro/ro units in the world as well as the most ecofriendly.

They have a length of 238 meters, a beam of 34 meters, a gross tonnage of 67,311 tonnes and a service speed of 20.8 knots.

Emanuele Grimaldi, managing director of the Grimaldi Group and vice-president of the Malta International Shipping Council, said that the company is “very proud to contribute to strengthening our long affiliation with the Maltese Islands, its people and its industry.”

“Having been present for over half a century in Malta is a demonstration of our commitment to the wellbeing of this nation whom we intend to serve with increasingly modern and eco-friendly vessels.”

The Grimaldi Group, Naples is represented in Malta by Sullivan Maritime Limited.