Grimaldi adds intermediary Patras port call to Italy and Türkiye route

Coming just over a month after the route’s launch, this development will establish a direct connection between Greece and Türkiye. It also intends to make the connections between these countries and Italy even more extensive and efficient.

”The new Trieste-Patras-Ambarli route is yet another demonstration of the great potential of the Motorways of the Sea network offered by our Group. With the addition of one port of call, the scope of a service expands exponentially, leveraging the reach, frequency, and efficiency of our connections as a whole,” said the Neapolitan group’s managing director Emanuele Grimaldi. 

”We continue our commitment towards increasingly efficient maritime transport, benefiting our customers and promoting sustainability. In this regard, a third sister ship of Eco Mediterranea and Eco Malta, recently launched at the Jinling shipyards in China, will soon be deployed on this route between Italy and Türkiye, and the addition of a fourth Eco-class vessel is not ruled out.”

The new service will become fully operational starting on October 23 and will be operated by the sister vessels Eco Mediterranea and Eco Malta. According to the company, these hybrid ro-ro ships, each with a transport capacity of over 500 trailers, can halve CO2 emissions per cargo unit compared to the previous generation of ro-ro ships and even cut them to zero during port stays.

With two weekly departures from each of the three ports, the Trieste-Patras-Ambarli service supports Grimaldi’s network of routes. Firstly, the new direct connection between Greece and Turkey represents an important innovation within the Motorways of the Sea operated by the group in the Mediterranean.

Moreover, in combination with the thrice-weekly Venice-Bari-Patras service (also operated by two Eco-class vessels) and through transhipment at the Greek port, the route will extend its reach to southern Italy, enabling the movement of rolling cargo to and from Türkiye via the Apulian port. Venice will also serve as another gateway for rolling freight transported between northern Italy and Türkiye via the same transhipment mode.

For the Italian group’s clients, the two sides of the Adriatic will become even closer: four Eco-class vessels will operate between northern Italy (Venice, Trieste) and Greece (Patras), providing a total of five weekly departures in both directions – on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.