The Grimaldi Group (Naples), Italy's largest shipping company, has seen the launch at Fincantieri's Castellammare di Stabia shipyard of Cruise Olympia, the last of a series of four cruise ferries ordered by the company.

After delivery, scheduled for next June, Cruise Olympia will join her sister ship Cruise Europa - currently operated by Minoan Lines, part of the Grimaldi Group - on the Ancona/Igoumenitsa/Patras route. Cruise Olympia, together with Cruise Europa, will - at 54,310 gross tons - be the biggest cruise ferry on the Mediterranean Sea and feature an à la carte and a self service restaurant, bars, a casino, wellness and fitness areas, a swimming pool, shops, a conference hall and a party hall, a discotheque, two halls reserved for drivers, an internet point, a video games corner and a children's playroom.

At 225m long and 31m wide, the ship will have a loading capacity of 250 cars and 3,000 linear metres of coaches, trucks and campers and be able to accommodate up to 3,000 passengers in 413 cabins. 18 of these will be Owner's suites and 50 Junior suites. There will also be 548 reclining seats, 114 of which will be first class. Cruise Olympia will be able to operate at a service speed of 28 knots connecting Ancona, Igoumenitsa and Patras in 22 hours.

Pic: Cruise Europa, to be sister ship to the new vessel