China News Service, Guangzhou, October 23 (Guo Jun, Wang Zhoule, Peng Yonggui) China’s first independently developed and designed dual-fuel ro-pax ship—the /GNV1800 /2800-meter lane luxury ro-pax ship “GNV·VIRGO” was named and delivered on the 23rd in Nansha, Guangzhou.
China’s first independently developed and designed dual-fuel ro-pax ship was named and delivered in Guangzhou on the 23rd. Photo by Guo Jun, China News Service.
This ship was tailor-made by Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) under China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) for Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), a ferry operator under the globally leading transport and logistics company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). It is a modern, large-scale, green, luxury dual-fuel ro-pax ship.
GSI and GNV signed a construction order for a series of four luxury ro-pax ships. The first ship in the series, the “GNV POLARIS,” was delivered and entered operation in October 2024. The second ship, the “GNV Orion,” was delivered in April 2025. The “GNV·VIRGO” is the third ship in this series and is also GSI’s first independently developed and designed dual-fuel ro-pax ship. This ship has undergone further optimization and upgrades based on the first two vessels. The number of cabins has increased from 298 on the first ship to 485, and the passenger capacity has been raised from 1,500 to 1,800. At the same time, while maintaining the same hull form, the “GNV·VIRGO” also received an upgrade to its LNG dual-fuel propulsion system, making the vessel more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.
This ship is a large export ro-pax vessel independently developed, designed, and built by GSI, possessing complete independent intellectual property rights. The ship has an overall length of 218 meters, a molded breadth of 29.6 meters, a molded depth of 10 meters, a design draft of 6.45 meters, a gross tonnage of approximately 52,900 tons, a deadweight of about 8,000 tons, and a design speed of 25 knots. The entire ship has 12 decks, equipped with facilities including a self-service restaurant, cafe, observation lounge, pizzeria, duty-free shop, airline-style seating area, children’s play area, and open-air bar. It is equipped with 7 elevators for efficient movement throughout the ship. The 2,800-meter lane can carry over 550 cars or 150 40-foot container trailers.
The power system utilizes four 9-cylinder medium-speed dual-fuel diesel engines, achieving a speed of 25 knots at 83.5% rated power, with a range of 3,300 nautical miles. It is equipped with a low-pressure SCR denitrification system, meeting the IMO Tier III nitrogen emission standards and the requirements for the Italian classification society RINA’s “Green Plus” notation. The ship is fitted with a domestically produced steam turbine generator set (900kW), enabling waste heat recovery from the main engines and significantly improving the energy efficiency index. (End)
