The Grimaldi Group launches the new passenger line Greece-Catania-Genoa

As from the 1st of November the m/vessel "Catania" will regularly link the ports of Corinth

and Patras to Genoa, Catania.

Naples, 31st of October 2011- The Grimaldi Group expands the passenger and freight service in the Mediterranean by announcing an important news: as from the next 28th of October, the Corinth-Patras- Catania-Genoa link, until now dedicated to the freight transport, will be extended also to the passenger service. To serve this weekly line will be the ro/pax vessel "Catania", which will replace the m/vessel "Eurocargo Napoli": the m/vessel "Catania" will sail from Corinth every Tuesday at 05.00 p.m. and, after stopping in Patras, will sail at 11.30 p.m. with destination Catania. The vessel is scheduled to arrive in the Sicilian port on Wednesdays at 08.30 p.m. She will sail again the same day at 12.00 p.m. to Genoa where she is expected to arrive every Friday at 12.30 a.m. On Fridays the m/vessel will sail at 11.00 p.m. from Genoa with destination Catania, where she will arrive on Sundays at 9.00 a.m. From Catania the vessel will sail again the same day at 01.00 p.m. to arrive in Corinth on Monday at 04.00 p.m. With a length of 186 metres and a gross tonnage of 26,000 tonnes, the m/vessel "Catania" is able to transport 2,250 linear metres of rolling cargo and 170 cars at a service speed of 23 knots, ensuring not only a bigger cargo capacity, but also a faster and more efficient service. Furthermore, thanks to the various services offered on board, drivers and passengers can both enjoy a pleasant crossing in maximum comfort. The modern ferry (built in 2003 and sailing under Italian flag) is able in fact to host more than 800 passengers in 93 cabins- between internal, external cabins and suites, and 62 comfortable reclining seats. Many are the services offered on board, as restaurant and self-service, cafeteria, hall-club Vesuvio, video-game area and slot machine, shops, and solarium with lounge chairs and a bar. The new maritime link will offer a valid transport alternative between Greece, Eastern Sicily and Northern Italy. Particularly, Greece and the Balkans will be connected to Sicily in little more than 24 hours, by passing the Apulean Adriatic ports and the congested Salerno/Reggio Calabria motorway.

_______________________________________________________________________________The Grimaldi Group operates a fleet of more than 100 ships and is a world leading operator in the transport of cars and ro/ro cargo. Established in 1947, the Group is headquartered in Naples and has about 8,000 employees. In 2010, it registered a turnover of € 2.3 billion and transported about 2.8 million cars, 1.4 million trailers and TEUs and more than 2.7 million passengers. In the passenger sector, the Group controls Finnlines, leader in ro/ro transport in the Baltic Sea and Minoan Lines, the Greek ferry operator leader in the Adriatic Sea and on the route between Piraeus and Crete.

For further information: Grimaldi Group, External Relations: Paul Kyprianou 081/496246 kyprianou.paul@grimaldi.napoli.it

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