The Port of Barcelona has a 2000-year history and great contemporary commercial importance as one of Europe's major ports in the Mediterranean, as well as being Catalonia's largest port, tying with Tarragona. It is also Spain's third and Europe's ninth largest container port, with a trade volume of 3.42 million TEUs in 2018. The port is managed by the Port Authority of Barcelona. Its 7.86 km2 (3 sq mi) are divided into three zones: Port Vell, the commercial/industrial port, and the logistics port.
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of transportation.
Minoan Lines is one of the largest passenger ferry companies in Europe, and one of the dominant passenger ferry companies in Greece, sailing between Piraeus and Crete and in the Adriatic Sea, between Patras and various Italian ports. The company was founded in May 1972. Since 2008 Grimaldi's Compagnia di Navigazione SpA owns and controls 95.9 of the stock of Minoan Lines.
Tirrenia is a privately owned Italian shipping company contracted by the Ministry of Transportation to ship items between Italy's mainland and its major islands. It operates a fleet of 23 vessels.
Finnlines Plc is a shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. Finnlines’ sea transports are concentrated in the Baltic and the North Sea. Finnlines’ passenger-freight vessels offer services from Finland to Germany and via Åland to Sweden as well as from Sweden to Germany. The Company has subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Poland. In addition to sea transportation, the Company provides port services in Finland in Helsinki and Turku.
The Grimaldi Group is a private shipping company owned by the Grimaldi family and based in Naples, Italy. Grimaldi operates a large fleet of ro-ro, ro-ro/multipurpose, con-ro multipurpose, PCTC, ro-pax and cruise ferries vessels.
The Port of Genoa is the most famous seaport of Italy, in competition with the ports of Marseille and Barcelona in the Mediterranean Sea. With a trade volume of 51.6 million tonnes, it is the busiest port of Italy after the port of Trieste by cargo tonnage.
MS Skania is a fast ropax ferry operated by Unity Line on their Świnoujście-Ystad route. She was built in 1995 by Schichau Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, Germany for Superfast Ferries as MS Superfast I. Between 2004 and 2008 she sailed for Grimaldi Lines as MS Eurostar Roma.
MS Europa Palace is a fast ropax ferry owned by Grimaldi Lines and operated by Minoan Grimaldi Lines. The ship previously named Cruise Olbia and did the Civitavecchia-Olbia route. Built in 2001 as Superfast VI by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, Germany for Attica Group's subsidiary Superfast Ferries, she was sold to the Genting Group in 2013, Renamed Bimini Superfast for the Bimini-Miami route. In 2016 she was sold to her current owners.
Sorrento was a ro-pax ferry which was built in 2003 as Eurostar Valencia. She was renamed in 2006. On 28 April 2015, she caught fire off Mallorca, Spain.
HSFCruise Bonaria is a Ro-Pax high speed ferry, built in 2000 at the Sestri Ponente shipyards by Fincantieri and owned by Grimaldi Lines previously owned by Minoan Lines. It can accommodate up to 2,500 passengers and 700 cars, and has 758 beds plus 742 airseats for passengers. The vessel is powered by four 4x Wärtsilä 16V46C diesel engines with a combined power of 67,517 kW, which give her a top 'speed of 31,6 knots. On November 2020 Minoan Lines announced that Knossos Palace exchanged with her former ship Cruise Bonaria previously named Olympia Palace. The first sold to Grimaldi Lines and renamed it Cruise Bonaria and the other one renamed Knossos Palace. The former Knossos Palace was under the Minoan Lines 20 years. For 20 years did the Piraeus-Heraklion route. The ship left Greece forever on 24 November and arrived in Napoli, Italy after two days. In there will change signals and name.
Carnival Horizon is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She is the 26th vessel in the Carnival fleet and is the second of Carnival's Vista class, which includes Carnival Vista and Carnival Panorama.
MS Cruise Roma, owned and operated by Grimaldi Lines, is the longest cruiseferry in the world. It was built at Fincantieri in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy.
MS La Suprema is a cruiseferry owned and operated by the Italian ferry company Grandi Navi Veloci. It was built at Nuovi Cantieri Apuania in Marina di Carrara, Italy. The second of a two-ship class, La Suprema and her sistership La Superba were the largest passenger ferries of the Mediterranean at the time of their completion; they were surpassed in 2008 by Cruise Roma of Grimaldi Ferries. Its construction cost about 120 million dollars.
MS Cruise Europa is a cruiseferry owned by Grimaldi Group and operated by Minoan Lines. It was built at Fincantieri in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy.
Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) is an Italian shipping company, based in Genoa, that operates ferries between mainland Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, France, Albania, Morocco and Tunisia. It was established by Aldo Grimaldi in 1992.
MS Cruise Sardegna is a cruiseferry owned and operated by Grimaldi Group. Previously was operated by Minoan Lines under the name Cruise Olympia. It was built at Fincantieri in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy.
MS Sharden is a cruiseferry owned and operated by Tirrenia di Navigazione. It was built in Fincantieri in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy.
MS Nuraghes is a cruiseferry owned and operated by Tirrenia di Navigazione. It was built at Fincantieri in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy.
Discovery Princess is a Royal-class cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. The 145,000 GT-vessel was ordered in January 2017 with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and her steel-cutting was performed on 14 February 2019 in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy.
Italy 