- GNV and Grimaldi Holding signed a 3-year bareboat charter for FORZA and TENACIA.
- Option 1+1 years
- Both ferries have been operating 10 months for GNV, in sub-charter from Trasmediterranea.
- Ferry Shipping News understands that, practically, it will be an extension of the current charters, even if this new agreement involves directly Grimaldi Holding and MSC-controlled GNV.
- Daily rates for each bareboat charter should be around EUR 15,000 and there are no purchase options.
- TENACIA and FORZA both have capacity of 2,000 lane meters and 1,000 passengers and are currently deployed on the routes linking Italy mainland to Sicily and Sardinia.
Latest News From The Maritime Continuity In Italy
Regarding the public tender launched for the subsidized Genova – Porto Torres link, both Tirrenia CIN and GNV had been excluded by the Italian transport ministry, while Grimaldi appealed to the Regional Administrative Court in Rome contesting some aspects of the procedure.
The tender will have to be relaunched, but the Onorato-controlled group has just announced that they (Moby and Tirrenia CIN) will operate the same line for the whole year with no need for public money.
On June 1, Grimaldi Euromed officially started the new Naples – Cagliari – Palermo link with ropax CORFU. This follows a public tender for the maritime continuity where Grimaldi Group emerged as the only interested player.
For Grimaldi Group this is the first line calling the port of Naples, in the city where the company is headquartered.
(CORFU completed her last sailing on Igoumenitsa – Ancona on May 30).
On the route Naples – Cagliari Moby – Cin will also be active with a new regular ro-ro cargo line.

A few days after GNV won a tender for five ferries to be deployed as quarantine vessels for migrants, Italy’s transport minister launched another procedure with the same scope.
- Period: 1 June to 31 July 2021
- EU-flagged
- 300-400 people
- 300 lane metres
- Deadline 20 May
- Charter fee 36,000/day + 25/migrant/day

Competition on the Balearic Islands increases. Two days after the announcement of GNV to enter this market, the German company FRS said it will start operating the Alcúdia – Cituadella route at the end of May.
At the beginning of June, the Ibiza-Formentera line will be added.
The FRS routes will be operated by fast ferries:
TARIFA JET on Alcudia – Ciutadela / 1h15min / 777 pax / 175 cars
SAN GWANN on Ibiza – Formentera / 427 pax / 15 cars
Grandi Navi Veloci emerged as the winner of the public tender launched by the Italian transport ministry for providing five “quarantine” ships.
They will be deployed as accommodation vessel for migrants arriving in Italy from North Africa.

MSC-controlled ferry company Grandi Navi Veloci S.p.A.is emerging as the new owner of the 1976-built ferries PRIDE OF YORK and PRIDE OF BRUGES.
Up to now owned by P&O Ferries and previously deployed on Hull-Zeebrugge/Rotterdam, the funnels of both the vessels have been repainted and Italian crew members embarked.
To be confirmed: PRIDE OF YORK is to be renamed GNV ARIES while BRUGES will become GNV ANTARES.
Grandi Navi Veloci is expected to start running a double service from Spain mainland to the Balearic Islands from July 2.
Although the company did not make any official announcement yet, Spanish media report that the new lines will link the ports of Valencia and Barcelona with Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca.
Local port authorities confirmed that GNV asked for information, with the aim of launching new services coming summer.
The two ropax ferries which are likely to be deployed on the links are GNV BRIDGE and GNV SEALAND. Competitors are Trasmediterranea and Balearia.
Over the last 10 months the Italian transport ministry asked ferry companies for ropax units to be used as “floating quarantine hotels” for migrants arriving on the Italian coasts from North Africa.
Earlier this week the same ministry published an updated resume of the awarded contracts: GNV €34.5m and Moby €1m.
Some other ferry companies such as CIN, Forship and the Greek firm Galaxy Maritime S.A. submitted offers but were excluded or emerged as second best.
GNV has suspended the ropax link between the ports of Civitavecchia and the Sicily island (i.e. ports of Palermo and Termini Imerese) after the ‘port of Rome’ increased port dues applied to roro and passenger traffics, embarked and disembarked.
The decision (which seems to be still reviewable) was taken by the port authority of Civitavecchia in order to balance the financial losses coming after the Covid emergency which cancelled all the cruise season and most of the ferry traffic this year.
The dockworkers company protested against the new increased port dues warning that several shipowners (Grandi Navi Veloci and Grimaldi for the news cars handling) are already thinking to move their ships to other ports in Italy.
The MSC-controlled ferry company will go on serving the line between Sicily and Central-Southern Italy through the port of Naples.
Tension and troubles are arising in several Italian ports as some roro operators are not respecting a law just approved by the Italian Parliament. This law says that lashing and unlashing of cargo onboard the ship can be done by crewmembers only where skilled dockers are not available in port. To be fully effective this new regulation needs final guidelines, still to be adapted by the local Transport ministry.
Dockers cite a need to improve safety and highlight that lashing is dockwork, and abuses must be sanctioned.
Grandi Navi Veloci, Grimaldi Lines and Caronte & Tourist are some of the ro-pax companies active in Italy pushing towards the possibility to make ro-ro self-handling on board their ships.
Italian shipowners’ associations Confitarma and Assarmatori anticipated their will to contest the coming into force of the law either in Italy or in Europe if necessary.









