Catania (ship)
Ship built by Visentini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Catania is a 186.35-metre Ro-Pax ferry owned by Grimaldi Euromed S.p.A. and operated by Grimaldi Lines. Built in 2003 by Cantiere Navale Visentini in Porto Viro, Italy, she was originally delivered as Eurostar Salerno before being renamed Catania. Powered by twin Wärtsilä / MAN 9L46C diesel engines generating 18,900 kW, she operates at a service speed of 23 knots and serves key Mediterranean and Adriatic routes connecting Italy, Sicily, Greece, and Tunisia.
- (2003–2009): Eurostar Salerno
- (2009–present): Catania
- (2003–2007): Levantina Trasporti S.r.l.
- (2007–2015): Grimaldi Euromed S.p.A.
- (2015): New TTT Lines S.r.l.
- (2015–present): Grimaldi Euromed S.p.A.
- (2003–2007): Grimaldi Ferries
- (2007–2015): Grimaldi Lines
- (2015): TTT Lines (charter)
- (2015–present): Grimaldi Lines
Catania in Palermo | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Italian city of Catania |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | (2003–present): Palermo,  Italy |
| Route |
|
| Ordered | 2001 |
| Builder |
|
| Yard number | 200 |
| Laid down | 3 August 2001 |
| Launched | 28 June 2003 |
| Completed | 12 November 2003 |
| Acquired | 12 November 2003 |
| Maiden voyage | November 2003 |
| In service | 2003 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Visentini Class Ro-Pax Ferry |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | 186.35 m (611 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 25.60 m (84 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 6.63 m (21 ft 9 in) |
| Depth | 9.15 m (30 ft 0 in) |
| Decks | 8 |
| Ramps | Stern loading ramp |
| Installed power | 2 × MAN/Wärtsilä 9L46C diesel engines (total 18,900 kW / 25,345 hp) |
| Propulsion | 2 × controllable pitch propellers |
| Speed | 23.0 knots (42.6 km/h; 26.5 mph) (max) / 20.0 knots (37.0 km/h; 23.0 mph) (service) |
| Capacity |
|
| Crew | 40 |
| Notes | Sister ship to Sorrento |
Characteristics
Catania has 93 cabins and can carry 180 cars and 172 semi-trailers . It has four Wärtsilä 16V46C diesel engines of 67,200 kW allowing it to reach a maximum speed of 23.6 knots. It can hold up to 955 passengers.[1]
Service
The ferry, launched on 28 June 2003 at the Visentini shipyard in Porto Viro with the name Eurostar Salerno, was delivered on 12 November to Grimaldi Lines, for which it began service on 26 November on the connections between Livorno and Valencia and on those from Salerno to Valletta and Tunis.[2]
On 2 February 2005 it was transferred to the connections between Livorno, Tunis, Palermo, Salerno and Valletta. In January 2009 she was renamed Catania and in February she started service on the routes between Genoa, Catania, Valletta and Civitavecchia.
In March 2011 it was chartered to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and used until April in the evacuation of displaced people of the Libyan civil war from Tripoli and Misurata to Lampedusa, Cagliari and Taranto. After the humanitarian use, it returned to service for Grimaldi Lines on the connections between Livorno, Valencia and Tangier.[2]
On 1 November 2011 it was transferred to the connections between Genoa, Catania, Patras and Corinth. However, in 2012, with the suppression of the route, the ferry was moved to the connections between Civitavecchia, Trapani and Tunis and to those between Salerno, Palermo and the aforementioned Tunisian port.[3]
On 18 January 2013 it was transferred to the connections between Brindisi,Igoumenitsa and Patras, returning to operate in the Tyrrhenian Sea in December 2015, resuming the service on the old route between Lazio, Campania, Sicily and Tunisia.[4]
On 23 September 2021 the new connection between Civitavecchia, Arbatax and Cagliari was inaugurated, being replaced on the previous route by the Cruise Smeralda.[5] On 3 March 2023, with the transfer of the Corfu to the route between Lazio and Sardinia, it returned to service on the connections between Salerno, Palermo and Tunis and on those between Civitavecchia and Tunis, replacing the Cruise Bonaria.[6]