Grandi Navi Veloci

GNV was created in 1992 by Aldo Grimaldi, initially as a subsidiary of Grimaldi Group. The first ship of the company, Majestic, entered service in 1993 on the Genoa-Palermo route, followed in 1994 by the sistership Splendid on the Genoa-Porto Torres route. Majestic and Splendid were the first cruiseferries ever operated by an Italian company.

The fleet was enlarged with new cruise ferries through the 1990s, and in 2000 the company went public. New routes were added, including Livorno-Palermo, Genoa-Olbia and Genoa-Barcelona. In 2002 and 2003 the new, large cruise ferries La Superba and La Suprema entered service. Lines for Tunisia, as well a new Civitavecchia-Palermo line, were opened.

In 2008 the fleet was enlarged with three ro-ro cargo ships, Audacia, Tenacia, and Coraggio, and a new Genoa-Barcelona-Tangier line was opened. In 2009, GNV became fully independent from the Grimaldi family and Grimaldi Group. In 2010 the company was acquired by the MSC Group; in the same year, GNV merged with SNAV, also a subsidiary of MSC.In 2012, following the ceasing of the services by Comarit and Comanav, GNV opened new lines between Sète, Tangier and Nador. In 2015, GNV opened a new line between Italy and Albania.

The company, As of 2018^[update], currently operates a fleet of thirteen cruise ferries, including some of the largest ferries in Europe. Its CEO is Matteo Catani.

Grandi Navi Veloci converted one of their ferries, Splendid [it], into a hospital ship in order to treat coronavirus patients.^[1] The ship was delivered to Liguria, Italy, on 23 March 2020, and was made available for the symbolic cost of 1 EUR.^[2][3] With help from Registro Italiano Navale and a number of local and national companies, many of which donated their time, materials, and expertise, Splendid was converted into a hospital ship in roughly 10 days.^[3][4][5] Docked at Genoa's Ponte Colombo, the hospital ship is currently treating only coronavirus patients without serious pathologies, such as patients recovering after having been previously intubated.^[6][7][8]

Current fleet

Ship	Flag	Built	Entered service	Route	Gross tonnage	Length	Width	Passengers	Vehicles	Knots	Image
Splendid		1994	1994	Genoa-Rades	39,139 GT	214.5 m	27.6 m	2,200	1,010	21
Fantastic		1996	1996	Genoa-Barcelona-Tanger	35,222 GT	188.2 m	27.6 m	2,033	760	21
Excellent		1998	1998	Genoa-Barcelona-Tanger	39,777 GT	202.2 m	28 m	2,230	760	24
La Suprema		2003	2003	Genoa-Palermo	49,257 GT	211.5 m	30.4 m	2,920	984	28
GNV Azzurra		1981	2013	Naples-Marseille	29,706 GT	168.5 m	24.5 m	2,180	570	17
GNV Atlas		1990	2013	Sete-Barcelona-Nador	33,336 GT	161.3 m	29 m	2,000	575	18
GNV Blu		1989	2017	Bari-Durres	31,910 GT	164.4 m	27.6 m	1,320	455	19.5
Tenacia		2008	2020	Valencia-Palma De Mallorca	26,005 GT	199 m	26.6 m	500	600	24
Forza		2010	2020	Civitavecchia-Termini	25,530 GT	199 m	26.6 m	500	600	24
GNV Antares		1987	2021	Napoli-Palermo	31,598 GT	179.4 m	25.4 m	888	850	18
GNV Sealand		2009	2021	Ibiza-Barcelona-Palma De Mallorca	26,904 GT	186.5 m	25.6 m	830	200	24
GNV Bridge		2021	2021	Barcelona-Palma De Mallorca-Valencia	32,581 GT	203.3 m	25 m	1,000	240	24
GNV Spirit		2001	2022	Naples-Palermo	32,728 GT	203.9 m	25 m	1,595	712	28
Golden Bridge		1990	2021	IbizaBarcelona-Mahon	26,463 GT	186.5 m	24.8 m	1,500	500	23.5
GNV Sirio		2004	2024	Genoa-Palermo	39,798 GT	214 m	26.4 m	2,908	1,080	27.5
GNV Auriga		2005	2024	Genoa-Palermo	39,798 GT	214 m	26.4 m	2,908	1,080	27.5

Out of service

Ship	Flag	Built	Entered service	Route	Gross tonnage	Length	Width	Passengers	Vehicles	Knots	Image
Majestic		1993	1993	Laid up in Marseille	32,777 GT	188.2 m	27.6 m	1,790	760	21
Excelsior		1999	1999	Laid up in Genoa	39,777 GT	202.2 m	28 m	2,253	760	24
La Superba		2002	2002	Laid up in Palermo	49,257 GT	211.5 m	30.4 m	2,920	984	28
GNV Cristal		1989	2013	Laid up in Napoli	33,336 GT	161.3 m	29 m	2,000	575	18
Rhapsody		1996	2015	Laid up in Marseille	37,768 GT	161.8 m	38.8 m	2,448	716	23.5
GNV Allegra		1987	2019	Laid up in Rijeka	31,914 GT	166.3 m	28.4 m	1,458	580	21.5
GNV Aries		1987	2021	Laid up in Napoli	31,785 GT	179.2 m	25.1 m	930	850	18.5

Future Ships

Ship	Flag	Built	Will Enter Service	Gross tonnage	Length	Width	Passengers	Vehicles	Knots
GNV Polaris		2024	2024	47,089 GT	218 m	29.6 m	1,500	1,360	25
TBA		2025	2025	47,089 GT	218 m	29.6 m	1,500	1,360	25
TBA		2026	2026	47,089 GT	218 m	29.6 m	1,500	1,360	25
TBA		2026	2026	47,089 GT	218 m	29.6 m	1,500	1,360	25

• On 31 October 2018, a 8:00am local time, the Excellent crashed into the Port of Barcelona (ESBCN) after a gust of wind drove it into the cargo pier, smashing into a gantry crane, which tipped over onto containers holding flammable chemicals, which caught fire, causing toxic smoke, and setting the pier ablaze. The Excellent had been trying to dock, but was prevented from doing so due to bad weather.^[9][10][11]

• Company website