“GNV will order new ferries”

Genoa - Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) will again order new ships: a new start for the Genoese company that reflects the entire ferry industry operating in the Mediterranean Sea. This was revealed to Secolo XIX / The MediTelegraph by Roberto Martinoli, President and CEO of the company from their headquarters in Genoa. “Whoever wants to grow in this sector will be forced to build new ships,” says the leader of GNV, “and our goal is to advance further. The timeline? Within a couple of years.” The Grandi Navi Veloci fleet is currently composed of eleven units, the newest one, La Suprema, was built in 2003. Of these, seven were built by Italian shipyards: six by Nuovi Cantieri Apuania and one by Fincantieri. “The real problem,” says Martinoli, “is that today there are fewer ferries in good enough condition for leasing. And it’s almost as if we have no alternative. We have not found a shipyard yet but if there’s no difference in costs, we will certainly favour an Italian shipyard. We constantly monitor the evolution of LNG powered ships but at the moment, the ports of the Mediterranean Sea have not yet adequate infrastructure to support the supply of this type of unit.”

The Genoese company has closed the first eight months of the year with an increase in sales compared to 2014, and closed the month of August with record figures: sales have registered an increase of 11% while the turnover for journeys has increased 14%. The number of passengers carried rose to double digits on all markets, including traffic on the route recently opened to Albania. The ferry Rhapsody was selected to operate between Bari and Durres, the last one that was completely renovated and equipped with the new livery. In regards to its participation in foreign markets, GNV announced that it has kept up all connections with The Maghreb, despite the fact that ships to Tunisia have been affected by a lower demand as a result of the recent terrorist attacks in the African country. As for national traffic, the real boom was recorded last month on the route between Genoa and Sardinia, leading to the company extending the service Genoa-Porto Torres until Saturday, 26 September. There are also positive numbers coming from the Civitavecchia-Palermo route, which according to the company, has been subject to a re-definition of the product through the introduction of a ship owned by Grandi Navi Veloci. Future plans instead, include the dream of Cuba; GNV has never hidden the desire to serve traffic between the Caribbean island and the United States. “It is difficult to forecast,” says Martinoli, “but we expect to close 2015 with a positive figure. For those working in the ferry sector, the holiday season is certainly the most important. A good chunk of the entire annual budget depends on it: for this reason, today GNV is content, but not satisfied.”