Grimaldi Launches New Maritime Service Between Italy and Greece

Italian shipping company Grimaldi Group has launched a new direct service to expand its coverage in the Adriatic routes between Italy and Greece.

As of 19 December 2013 the new maritime service, dedicated to the transport of rolling freight and passengers, will be launched between the ports of Ravenna, Igoumenitsa and Patras.

The vessel deployed on the line will be the Euroferry Olympia, a ro-pax ferry with a length of 183 meters and a beam of 28.50 meters, a loading capacity of 200 trailers and 600 passengers, accommodated in cabins and reclining seats.

The new line will have a bi-weekly frequency: departures from the Italian port of Ravenna will be on Wednesdays at 12 noon and Saturdays at 6pm, with arrival in Igoumenitsa respectively at 3pm of Thursdays and 9:30pm on Sundays, and in Patras at 10:30pm on Thursdays and at 5am on Mondays.

Patras Port, Greece

The departures from the Greek port of Patras will be on Mondays at 10pm and on Thursdays at 11:59pm, while from Igoumenitsa on Tuesdays at 6am and Fridays at 9:30am with arrival in Ravenna on Wednesdays at 7am and Saturdays at 12 noon.

The new maritime link will be added to those already offered by the Grimaldi Group between Italy and Greece, through the Grimaldi Lines and Minoan Lines brands. Currently, Grimaldi Lines offers daily departures between Brindisi, Igoumenitsa and Patras for the transport of goods and passengers as well as a weekly departure from Genoa, Livorno, Catania to Patras for rolling cargo only.

Moreover, the Greek subsidiary Minoan Lines offers direct services from Ancona and Trieste to Igoumenitsa and Patras, respectively six and three times a week, by deploying three modern ferries, two of which, the Cruise Europa and Cruise Olympia, are the biggest cruise ferries in the Mediterranean with a loading capacity of 3,000 linear metres of rolling freight and 3,000 passengers each.