Grimaldi Lines Orders More Bunker Saving Upgrades

The order follows upgrades of 10 vessels under Grimaldi's Finnlines brand

Rolls-Royce Tuesday announced it has secured orders to fit five more Grimaldi Group (Grimaldi) vessels with its bunker saving Promas Lite technology.

The integrated rudder propeller system is said to have demonstrated a 20 percent improvement in fuel efficiency following retrofits to other Grimaldi vessels.

Five Grande-class Pure Care Truck Carriers (PCTCs) will now be upgraded with the system which "significantly increases a vessel's hydrodynamic capability" through the use of computation fluid dynamics (CFD), thereby reaching fuel consumption.

In May 2014, Grimaldi fitted 10 RoRo vessels operating under the Finnlines brand with the technology.

"The retrofitting of the Promas Lite system to our Ro-Ro vessels last year proved a huge success and a major step forward in our strategic objective to improve energy efficiency across the fleet," said Paolo Satariano, Grimaldi Group Corporate Technical Director.

"Rolling out the system to other vessel types in the Group was an easy decision to make and our PCTCs will now benefit from this innovative technology."

Promas Lite is a version of the Rolls-Royce Promas integrated propeller and rudder system, designed specifically as an upgrade for vessels already in service.

"We are pleased that the Grimaldi Group sees the Promas Lite as a cost-effective solution for reducing fuel consumption and meeting emissions abatement regulations," added Rolls-Royce Sales Manager for Promas, Klas Nygren.

In March, DNV GL launched a new CFD-based hull and propeller monitoring system, saying the world fleet could be sailing with approximately 30 percent more drag than necessary due to hull and propeller fouling.