The Grimaldi Group has presented its latest pure car and truck carrier (PCTC), the Grande Istanbul, at a ceremony held at Autoport, the automotive terminal in the port complex of Kocaeli, Türkiye, on 3 July.

Named after Türkiye's largest city, the Grande Istanbul is one of 17 latest-generation, ammonia-ready PCTCs commissioned by the Grimaldi Group. Delivered in November 2025 by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), in collaboration with China Shipbuilding Trading Co. (CSTC) — both part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) — the vessel measures 200 metres long and 38 metres in beam, and has a gross tonnage of approximately 77,500.

The Grande Istanbul offers a cargo capacity of up to 9,241 car equivalent units (CEUs) and is designed to carry both electric and conventionally powered vehicles as well as other rolling cargo. Four of her decks are hoistable, enabling the transport of heavy and oversized rolling cargo weighing up to 250 tonnes and measuring up to 6.5 metres in height.

According to Grimaldi, the vessel's electronically controlled engine delivers one of the lowest specific fuel consumptions in its category while complying with international limits on CO₂, NOₓ and SOₓ emissions. The Group claims that, compared with previous-generation car carriers, the Grande Istanbul reduces CO₂ emissions per unit of cargo by up to 50%. The vessel is designed for future conversion to ammonia as a zero-carbon alternative fuel and is equipped for cold ironing, allowing the use of shore-side electricity during port calls.

The Grande Istanbul is currently deployed on Grimaldi's EuroMed Service, linking ports in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, including Autoport, Borusan, Derince, Gemlik, Haydarpaşa and İzmir in Türkiye.

The event was attended by Edoardo Rixi, Italian Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, alongside Ertuğ Şevket Aksoy, Deputy Governor of Kocaeli, and Aras Serafettin, President of UND, the International Transporters Association. Representatives of maritime institutions, port operators, industry associations and key customers operating on Grimaldi's Short Sea and EuroMed services were also present, as were representatives of Arkas Holding, parent company of Egekont, the Group's agency in Türkiye.

Grimaldi's presence in Türkiye

The ceremony also offered an opportunity to highlight the Group's commercial activity in Türkiye, where it has been active for close to five decades. Since the mid-1990s, Grimaldi has operated regular car carrier services connecting İzmir to ports in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. As the Turkish automotive industry expanded, the Group extended its maritime links to ports in the Marmara region, where major vehicle manufacturers established production sites.

In September 2024, the Group entered the Turkish short-sea market with the launch of a Trieste–Patras–Ambarlı ro-ro service, operated by ECO-class ro-ro vessels. The service was subsequently expanded to include Gemlik and now offers eight weekly departures, operated by three ECO-class vessels and one Eurocargo-class ship.

Overall, Grimaldi currently deploys around 20 ro-ro vessels and PCTCs in Türkiye, representing a total investment of approximately €1.2 billion, according to the company. The fleet serves the ports of Ambarlı, Autoport, Borusan, Derince, Gemlik, Haydarpaşa, Yalova, Yeniköy and İzmir.

In 2025, Grimaldi vessels made 750 calls at Turkish ports, connecting the country to a network spanning more than 150 ports in over 60 countries across five continents, according to the Group. During that period, the company transported around 560,000 cars, vans and other rolling cargo units on its EuroMed services, along with nearly 100,000 trucks, trailers and containers on its short sea services. The Group says it is on track to achieve 50% growth in 2026 compared with 2025.

Beyond shipping, Grimaldi also makes use of Turkish shipyards, with more than 20 vessels undergoing repair or drydocking in Yalova and Tuzla in 2025 alone.

Guido Grimaldi, Corporate Short Sea Shipping Commercial Director of the Grimaldi Group, said: "The friendship between Italy and Türkiye has deep roots. Today, thanks to the concrete commitment of the Grimaldi Group, this historical bond translates into an increasingly strong commercial partnership. We strongly believe in the Turkish market and in this country, which represents a unique logistics platform in the Mediterranean, at the crossroads of three continents. We have ambitious plans to further develop our short-sea and car carrier services to and from the country, thus supporting its trade relations with the rest of the world."