‘BIG FAST SHIP’ ACROSS THE MED
The morning dawned to reveal three cruise ships docked at Genoa’s inner harbour, their colourful lights ablaze among the first hints of daylight. After a prolonged period of inactivity due to pandemic lockdowns, these ships were a welcome sight. As the sun rose over the waterfront, four more passenger ships arrived, each neatly turning and backing toward their adjacent berths.
By 1000 the downtown wharves were a full house, with seven giant bows lined up like a sheaf of arrows pointing out to sea. It was a stirring sight, but not for long: by midday, the ships started to head out again. First to cast off was Grandi Navi Veloci’s Excelsior, bound for Tangier, 1,000 miles away, on the outer lip of the Strait of Gibraltar.
’s 51-hour voyage to Morocco is one of the longest ferry routes out of any European port. At nearly 40,000gt and 660ft in length, is one of 24 ships currently sailing for the Italianheadquartered Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV, literally ‘Big Fast Ships’). Despite its informal air, the company’s moniker is a throwback to a time when steamship lines missed no opportunity to emphasise all possible claims
