As from April, enhancement of the Livorno-Olbia line and launch of the new Civitavecchia-Olbia service.
NAPLES – Following the success of its recent initiatives, the Grimaldi Group proceeds to enhance its maritime links for passengers and freight between mainland Italy and Sardinia. As from mid-April, the Livorno-Olbia link will be further strengthened while, at the same time, a daily connection between the ports of Civitavecchia and Olbia will be launched.
Inaugurated last 11th of January, the daily Livorno-Olbia link will be enhanced with the deployment of the vessel Cruise Olbia, a new generation ro/pax ferry, which will replace the Zeus Palace currently deployed on the service. With a length of 204 meters, the Cruise Olbia is able to transport 1,600 passengers and 2,400 linear meters of rolling cargo and accompanying passenger vehicles. The ferry has 242 comfortable cabins, fitted with bathroom and air conditioning, for a total of 834 beds, a self service and an a la carte restaurant, three bars, a shop, a children’s play room and a discotheque.
The deployment of the Cruise Olbia will allow the Grimaldi Group to further improve the quality standards of its onboard services, thus meeting the needs of its customers. The “top quality” services offered on board will be also combined with a “low cost” pricing policy.
The ro/pax vessel Zeus Palace, instead, will be deployed on the new Civitavecchia-Olbia service, whose frequency will be daily both ways, with departure from Civitavecchia at 10:45 p.m. and arrival in Olbia the following day at 07:00 a.m. The return from Olbia will be at 12:30 p.m., arriving in Civitavecchia at 7:00 p.m.
With a length of 212 meters, the Zeus Palace is capable of carrying 1,500 passengers, 2,500 linear metres of rolling cargo and accompanying passenger vehicles. Featuring 202 cabins with bathroom and air conditioning and 215 reclining seats, the vessel offers passengers various amenities on board such as a pool, a health centre, a self-service and an a la carte restaurant, three bars, a video game room, a shop and a children’s play room.
“The launch of this new daily connection represents an additional service that the port of Civitavecchia will offer through the Grimaldi Group” says Pasqualino Monti, Special Administrator of the Civitavecchia Port Authority “and confirms, once again, the intention of the Group to focus in our port as one of its main hubs, both for ro/pax and the ro/ro traffic, in the light of the success of the line to the US for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which effectively launched the important automotive industry”, concludes Pasqualino Monti.
“We welcome the challenge of the Grimaldi Group as it aims to re-launch the Sardinia traffic in a period when maritime transport is gradually exiting from the crisis“, declares Pietro Preziosi, Special Administrator of the Port Authority of Northern Sardinia. “Our Port Authority has always encouraged the launch of new links by different shipping companies because, like in the case of the cruise industry, they are considered an important wealth vehicle for the island in general and for the port community in particular”, concludes Preziosi.
“The unprecedented success of the Livorno-Olbia link, launched only a few weeks ago, persuaded us to proceed with the enlargement of our range of services to Sardinia”, said Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of the Grimaldi Group, together with his brother Gianluca. “The launch of the Civitavecchia-Olbia daily service was strongly requested by our Sardinian clientele and will enable us to better serve the traffic of goods and passengers between the Centre/South of mainland Italy and Northern Sardinia”, concludes Grimaldi.
Thanks to these recent initiatives, the Grimaldi Group will offer an extensive network of connections between mainland Italy and Sardinia. Currently, in addition to the services dedicated to freight and passengers between Civitavecchia and Porto Torres, various other regular lines for the transport of freight link the ports of Genoa, Palermo, Livorno and Salerno with Cagliari (South of Sardinia). Moreover, the Group links Sardinia with Spain, through the daily passenger and freight service between Porto Torres (North Western Sardinia) and Barcelona and the three-times-a-week service between Cagliari and Valencia.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
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