Ground-breaking historical events were marked this week

Ground-breaking historical events were marked this week, with India’s population to overtake China’s by mid-2023, according to UN data, as well as the ranking drop of Hong Kong behind rival Singapore in the world’s wealthiest cities.

PPA S.A.:Basic financial data for the first quarter of the current period ended 31/03/2023 and the general developments in each activity

1. Key financial indicators

BDI returned from holidays

Iakovos (Jack) Archontakis
Commercial Manager TMC MARITIME CO.

Dr. Fotios-Evangelos Karlis
Maritime Executive and Consultant

The dry bulk cargo market progressed positively with an increase recorded in all sizes except for Panamaxes, which showed a marginal drop compared to the previous week.

Grimaldi’s new “G5” vessel Great Lagos launched

Just two days after the celebrations for the delivery of the Great Antwerp, the Grimaldi Group's first “G5” class ro-ro multipurpose unit, a new ceremony was held this morning at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd. in Ulsan (South Korea) for the launching of her sister ship Great Lagos.

The second G5-class unit is named after the city of Lagos in Nigeria: its port has been served for decades by the Grimaldi Group, which operates there the largest multipurpose ro-ro terminal in West Africa.

The Great Lagos has a length of 250 metres, a beam of 38 metres and deadweight of 45,684 tonnes. Her innovative design combines high loading capacity with great attention to environmental impact: all G5-class ships are able to transport 4,700 linear metres of rolling freight, 2,500 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) and 2,000 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units). Compared to the previous G4-class, the new vessels have the same capacity for rolling freight while their container capacity doubles.

In spite of her increased capacity, thanks to numerous cutting-edge, technological solutions aimed at increasing energy efficiency, the new vessel is able to reduce CO2 emissions per tonne transported of up to 43% compared to other Grimaldi ro-ro multipurpose ships.

The Great Lagos launching ceremony was attended, among others, by Heung-Won Seo, Senior Executive Vice President of Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd., Guido Grimaldi, Deep Sea Commercial & Operations Director of the Grimaldi Group, various managers of the Korean shipyard and of the Neapolitan shipping company and representatives of the main customers with which the latter collaborates on its routes connecting Europe, West Africa, North and South America.

As proof of the great esteem binding the Group and its most loyal customers, the godmother of the Great Lagos represents an important commercial partner in the transport of vehicles between Northern Europe and West Africa as well as on other routes in the Mediterranean area: this is Chafica Yamine, wife of Antonio Frangie, owner of Frangie Internationale Spedition GmbH.

After her delivery, which is expected this summer, the Great Lagos will be deployed on maritime transport services offered by the Grimaldi Group between Northern Europe and West Africa, in order to further enhance their quality. The other five G5-class units – i.e. the Great Antwerp and the remaining four sister vessels to be delivered between 2023 and 2024 – will also be deployed on the same routes.

Clean Energy Marine Hubs Initiative wins GREEN4SEA Initiative Award

The Clean Energy Marine Hubs (CEM Hubs) Initiative were awarded the GREEN4SEA Initiative Award yesterday, Wednesday 19 April.

As the first quarter of 2023 ended

As the first quarter of 2023 ended, the total orderbook of the four main components of the merchant fleet has increased by about 160 vessels (6.5%) compared to the end of the first quarter of 2022.