Grande Congo

Grimaldi  has a number of these ROROs, or technically, CONROs.  I’ve seen Grande Gabon, Senegal, Marocco, and Guinea. Ones I haven’t seen include Grande Togo, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and I could go on . . . and those are not in the order they appear along the West African coastline.   For some reason there’s no Grande Liberia or Mauretania, coastal countries.  I’m not surprised there’s no Grande Mali or Niger. 

Ava M. McAllister is providing the assist.

What I consider unusual about these Grimaldi vessels is

 

their use of exterior space to transport automobiles. 

You’d think they’d get salt spray where you don’t want it. 

All photos, WVD, who wonders

Maybe if this box-and-car-carrying vessel were lighter, it might be carrying seals in this manner.  Thx, Harry.

 

Grande Senegal

I’ve seen other Grimaldi Grande vessels, but never Grande Senegal.

So not matter that it was a gray day, I was happy to see this vessel calling in NYC’s sixth boro for the first time.

Grimaldi is the parent company to ACL, whose unique new vessels have appeared on this blog here.   Click here to see Grande Senegal at her original shipyard back in 2010.

 

 

Unrelated here, but I wonder if vessels passing under this bridge will appear smaller once the soon-to-be-obsolete lower roadbed is removed.

I’d love to see what tugboats assist the Grande— ROROs at port calls along the West African coast.  Anyone out there can help?

Ellen McAllister and

Resolute and all the other escort boats and crews keep shipping in the groove around Bergen Point.

 

All photos yesterday by Will Van Dorp.