Grimaldi Group

This is the main shipping company within the group. The Grimaldi family has had links to shipping for many generations. According to their own records, the oldest written records linking the Grimaldi family to shipping dates back to 1348, when three Grimaldi brothers received a precious relic as a guarantee for the chartering of three ships.[3]

The current Grimaldi companies can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century when Italian shipowner Gioacchino Lauro started a steamboat company. His son Achille expanded that shipping company and, in the middle of the 20th century, it became one of the largest shipping companies in the world. At that time, Giovanni Grimaldi was a lawyer who was married to the sister of above Achille Lauro. Amelia Grimaldi-Lauro asked her brother Achille to take her son Guido under his wings, and this brought the Grimaldi family back into the shipping business. It was this son, Guido, who founded the group in 1947 with his brothers Luigi, Mario, Aldo, and Ugo by buying a Liberty ship.

Grimaldi Lines operate ferry-lines with routes in the Mediterranean. They have routes to Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Malta, and Italy. Under the Grimaldi Lines brand, they operate six ro-ro ferries. The ships in the Grimaldi Lines fleet vary in size and design, with the larger ferries being able to carry up to 2200 passengers and a cruise-speed of 22.5 knots.

The company specializes in the maritime transport and distribution of shipping containers, automobiles, trucks, trailers, Mafi roll trailers, heavy construction machinery and other types of rolling cargo.

For carrying these commodities the company uses their passenger cruise ferry class ships, dedicated truck ferries, and also container/ro-ro ships. Grimaldi has a fleet of special car carriers. Grimaldi has 32 dedicated car + container ships and another 5 Atlantic class ships.[4]

On 4 June 2020, a serious fire started on MV Höegh Xiamen while alongside Jacksonville Blount Island port, and lasted for three full days, before having being successfully extinguished by Jacksonville fire brigades.[5] The vessel, before been finally declared a total loss, was under Grimaldi Group's time chartering and operation from Höegh Autoliners, for discharging and loading cars and used high and heavy machineries, on a regular monthly service in between Europe and US.[6]

On 21 November 2019 early morning, roropax MV Eurocargo Trieste faced a fire in her engine room. The ship departed Livorno just an hour before with over 200 vehicles on board and passengers, and was only 4 miles away from the port, when tugboats were re-deployed to berth her again, while fire brigades helped in extinguishing the fire. The reason of the accident remains unknown.[7]

On 7 October 2019, Euroferry Malta faced a severe storm after departing Cagliari port. Four crew members were injured while attempting to secure the cargo with lashing, and one died.[8]

On 15 May 2019, Grande Europa caught fire en route from Naples to Valencia close to the Balearic islands.[9] The vessel was carrying over 1800 motor vehicles, and the fire may have started on the accommodation deck. Half of the crew had to be evacuated by helicopter, while the other half remained on board to help the immediately deployed rescuing vessels in extinguishing the fire.[10] The ship had to be towed to Palma de Mallorca port.

On 10 March 2019, a fire started on the ro-ro ship Grande America off the coast of the Finistère. Travelling from Hamburg to Casablanca, it was carrying around two thousand cars and 365 containers (some of which contained hazardous materials). Efforts to extinguish it were unsuccessful and the ship started leaning to starboard. Early on 11 March, the twenty-six crew members and the only passenger were evacuated; they were then rescued by the British frigate HMS Argyll. The Grande America sank soon afterward, causing an oil spill.[11]

On 21 December 2018, four stowaways armed with metal bars threatened crew members on board Grande Tema travelling from Nigeria, demanding to be taken closer to the British coast.[12] The following day, despite Essex Police stating this was not being treated as a hostage, terror or piracy-related incident, British special forces seized control of the vessel and detained all four perpetrators without casualties.[13]

On 27 April 2018, Grimaldi Group announced the agreement to build six new vessels at Jinling shipyard in China, for a total investment of over US$400 million. The vessels will be ready for delivery by end of 2020, with a gross tonnage of 64,000gt each. The ships will be hybrid powered by both fuel and electricity, becoming emissions-free during their port stays, when fully switched to electric mode. Three of these will also be ice-class and leased to Finnlines as additional new tonnage, to perform their Baltic service.[14]

On 8 August 2017, a seizure warrant was issued by the Dakar Port Authority for Grande Nigeria until damage repayment was arranged. The vessel had broken her moorings and accidentally collided with a ferry docked close by. Diambogne suffered severe damage to her hull that caused seawater to enter the engine room.[15]

On 27 November 2016, while en route from Valencia to Autoport-Izmit, MV Grande Anversa collided with general cargo Sider Capri in the Cannakale Strait in Turkey. Both vessels reported minor damage but had to interrupt their commercial voyages, proceeding to the anchorage to undertake investigations and surveys.[16]

On 22 October 2014, Grande Francia encountered extreme bad weather conditions on the way from Tilbury to Hamburg. The vessel faced severe rolling and strong gust winds that caused ten 40-foot containers to break their lashings and fall overboard.[17]

On 7 October 2011, Republica de Argentina ran aground in the Western Scheldt between the North Sea and the port of Antwerp and was pulled back afloat at the next high tide[18]

On 8 March 2007, Repubblica of Genova capsized during an Antwerp port stay due to possible incorrect stowage and ballast. The vessel was loading containers and vehicles. A large portion of the cargo fell overboard, however, the vessel was rescued and towed to dry dock.[19]

On Jan 28 2020, in Dakar Senegal, onboard of the MV Grande Nigeria 120 kilograms of cocaine packed in 4 bags were found in the ship’s ventilation system.[20][21]

Between July 14 and 16, 2019 German customs officials confiscated 4.5 tons of cocaine hidden in 211 sports bags on the MV Grande Benin while the ship was in Hamburg. 4,200 packages of pressed cocaine had arrived aboard the ship on the route Montevideo - Antwerp. According to the ship's documentation, the container was loaded with soybeans. It was the largest seizure of drugs in the history of Germany, the approximate value of which was 1,000 million dollars, which was a sensitive blow to drug trafficking. The drugs were destroyed under strict security measures. The national director of Customs of Uruguay, Enrique Canon, resigned on Aug 1 after knowing the case of the ship which added another seizure of the drug that had left on a private flight from Carrasco International Airport in Uruguay, carrying about 600 kilos of cocaine. In both cases, the controls of the loads at the exit were not adequate. The ship had berthed in Montevideo between June 12 and 19 where the drug was probably loaded.[22]

On 29 June 2019, in the port of Dakar, the Senegalese customs inspected the vehicles transported by the MV Grande Nigeria, coming from South America and headed for Northern Europe, and found in some of them a hidden bust of 798 kilos cocaine. For this reason, the vessel was seized, while the Master and the Chief Mate Commander Biagio Pasquale Mattera and First Officer Paolo Amalfitano – both Italians – as well as two German passengers were arrested.[23] The release has been described as an "embarrassing affair" in the Senegalese media. It was noted that a crew member was able to board the ship after the seizure and that the main suspects were released and allowed to return to Italy.[24]

On 30 November 2018, Italian authorities seized 82 kg of cocaine hidden in a Land Rover car shipped on the MV Grande Argentina.[25]

In August 2018, in short succession, two Grimaldi vessels were stopped by the Brazilian authorities at Santos. On 7 August, 1.2 tons of cocaine drug was found hidden inside a container on MV Grande Nigeria.[26] On MV Grande Francia two containers were noted with broken seals by the crew, and intruders were spotted fleeing the ship anchored at Santos roads. Consequently, 1.3 tons of cocaine was found inside the containers by local authorities on 12 August.[27]

On February 22, 2018, Dutch police seized 55 kilos of cocaine in Antwerp port, that was brought to the Netherlands onboard the MV Grande Amburgo.[28]

In April 2016 German police found 26 kilos of cocaine hidden in building machines on board of MV Grande Atlantico during a raid in Hamburg.[29]

On 26 March 2016, during a raid in Emden harbour, German police seized 60 kg of cocaine hidden in building machines on board of MV Grande Amburgo.[30]

On 19 March 2016, 20 kg of cocaine were found on board of the MV Grand Brasile during a raid by German police, when the ship was approaching Hamburg.[31]

On 18 January 2016, 3 kg of cocaine were intercepted by police in Palermo, Italy, on board the MV Eurocargo Rome.[32]

In December 2015, 13 kg of cocaine were found to be transported by a Grimaldi ferry to Sardinia.[33]

On 12 May 2015, 13 kg of cocaine were seized by Italian police in "Operazione Paprika". The roropax ferries travelling between Civitavecchia and Barcelona were used for the transport of cocaine, hidden in passenger cars.[34]