Atlantic Container Line (ACL) held the christening of its new G4 vessel, the Atlantic Sun, on Wednesday 10 October, 2018 at FAPS Port Newark Auto Marine Terminal at the Port of New York & New Jersey. Mrs. Katherine LoBue served as Godmother of the vessel. ACL Customers and Port Officials joined in the celebration of ACL's new G4 vessel.
The ACL G4 vessels are the first of their kind and the largest multipurpose RORO/Containerships ever built. They incorporate an innovative design that increases capacity without significantly changing the dimensions of the vessel. The G4s are bigger, greener and more efficient than their predecessors. Their container capacity is more than doubled at 3800 TEUs, with 28,900 square metres of RORO space and a car capacity of 1300+ vehicles. The RORO ramps are wider and shallower and the RORO decks are higher (up to 7.4 meters) with fewer columns that enable much easier loading and discharge of oversized cargo. Fuel consumption per TEU has been dramatically reduced and emissions have been eliminated by scrubbers. The new fleet continues to employ ACL's unique cell-guides on deck, helping the company maintain a unique record: ACL ships have not lost a single container at sea in over 35 years.
The ATLANTIC SUN is registered in the United Kingdom. It is one of five sister vessels, ATLANTIC SAIL, ATLANTIC SEA, ATLANTIC SKY and ATLANTIC STAR in ACL's new G4 fleet. The ATLANTIC STAR was christened at the Port of Baltimore and The ATLANTIC SEA was christened in the Port of Liverpool.
These vessels have dramatically improved ACL's competitiveness on the North Atlantic. The G4s demonstrate to ACL's customers and suppliers that its Parent Company, the Grimaldi Group, continues to invest in ACL for the long term. ACL's success over its 50-year history has been measured by doing things differently from all of its competitors. ACL has the most unique ships, sail to unique ports like Baltimore and transports oversized cargo that others cannot carry. Combined with the Grimaldi Group's ever-expanding service network, the new G4s will enable ACL to provide even more services to more places as a high quality container and RORO operator for many years to come.
Since 1967, ACL has been a specialised transatlantic carrier of containers, project and oversized cargo, heavy equipment and vehicles with the world's largest combination RORO/Containerships. The Company's headquarters is in Westfield, New Jersey with offices throughout Europe and North America. ACL offers four transatlantic sailings each week and also handles the Grimaldi Lines' Service between the US and West Africa and the Grimaldi EuroMed Service between North America and the Mediterranean. The Company also offers service for oversized cargo from North America to the Middle East, Far East and Australia. ACL is a subsidiary company of the Grimaldi Group of Naples, Italy.
