Colourful ConRo - Grande Marocco

 Even if their paint is faded and showing rust streaks, the yellow Grimaldi ConRos are capable of brightening the gloomiest of days. Halifax's mid-Atlantic weather (rain, fog, then falling temperatures and flash freezing then ice pellets and snow) today, February 24 could use some brightening and the Grande Marocco certainly provided it.

 A large flock of wintering ducks, and armada of gulls took flight fom the muddy beach in Eastern Passage when they noticed me approaching. The jetty in the mid-ground is the McAsphalt dock, carrying a heated pipeline for transferring asphalt from ship or barge to storage tanks on shore.The jetty was once called Dook's Dock.

Combination carriers, container and RoRo ships, are increasingly rare, but the Grimaldi Group has a large fleet of them, including those of the Atlantic Container Lines, which it also owns.  The Grande Marocco was also here May 15, 2022, carrying German cars, but this time it has come from the Italian ports of Savona, Salerno and Gioia Tauro so presumably has Italian made cars.

Built in 2010 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, Grande Marocco is a 47,636 gt, 25,725 dwt ship with a container capacity of 800 TEU and a car/van capacity of 2,000. Some cars can be carried on the open upper decks above the hold and on the superstructure. There did appear to be some tractors and packaged cargo on the open main deck, but no containers. The ship has four full length and eight part length covered decks and is equipped with a 250 tonne capacity stern ramp. It also has two 40 tonne SWL cranes.

The ship's itinerary will take it from here to Baltimore and New York before returning to Vigo, Spain, then Civitavecchia, Livorno, Savona, Salerno and Gioia Tauto, Italy in mid-April.

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