Godmother of the vessel was Amanda Matilda Cuomo Cole, granddaughter of the former late New York Governor, Mario Cuomo and also niece of the current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Father Peter Haldás of St. John Paul II parish, blessed the ship during a short ceremony to the presence
of a distinguished delegation composed of civil and maritime authorities, customers, port operators,
managers of Grimaldi Group and of its daughter company Atlantic Container Line.

During the ceremony, Costantino Baldissara, Commercial, Logistics & Operations Director of Grimaldi Group, gave a special thanks to the Italian Consul General, Francesco Genuardi, the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Deputy Director, Andy Saporito, and the FAPS President, August LoBue, for their participation.

The Pure Car & Truck Carrier is deployed on the Mediterranean-North America route. Second of a series of three sister units, the Grande New York has a length of 199,90 meters, a width of 32,26 meters, a gross tonnage of 63.000 tonnes and a cruising speed of 19 knots.

The new Italian-flag unit, the vessel can carry 6.700 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) or alternatively 4.000 linear meters of rolling freight and 2.500 CEU. The Grande New York is equipped with four hoistable decks which make her an extremely flexible vessel, able to transport any type of rolling cargo (cars,vans, trucks, tractors, buses, excavators, etc.) up to 5.2 meters high. In addition, the vessel has two access ramps, a side ramp and a quarter stern ramp, the latter allowing the loading of freight units with a weight up to 150 tons.

The Grande New York is a highly performing ship from an environmental point of view. She is fitted with an electronically-controlled (Man Diesel & Turbo) main engine that allows to comply with the new regulations for reducing NOx emissions, while the installed scrubber reduces sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions. Moreover, she is equipped with a ballast water treatment unit, allowing her to meet the future international regulations on this matter.