Monaco One, the high-speed catamaran built to link the Ports of Monaco and Cala del Forte in Ventimiglia, celebrates its inaugural voyage after the traditional bottle ceremony.
Aleco Keusseoglou, President of Monaco Ports, welcomed the guests on the quay of the Yacht Club Monaco, whose ample spaces allowed the strict observance of the rules to combat the pandemic, with these words: “Today is a day of celebration for all of us. Monaco One, our futuristically designed shuttle symbolises the hope of better days and we believe and work for that”.
After the customary thanks to the guests present, President Keusseoglou emphasized: “the importance of the connecting function of Monaco One for the customers of the Principality’s ports and Cala del Forte, which strengthens, also ideally, the already strong link between Ventimiglia and the Ligurian west coast with Monaco. Finally, I would like to thank Camille Gottlieb in particular for accepting to be the godmother of Monaco One, we are all very honored. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that with Monaco One, SEPM will establish a partnership with the BE SAFE association, of which she is president. This association has a particularly noble purpose and we are very happy to offer our contribution.”
The ceremony was attended by HRH Prince Albert II, his niece and godmother of Monaco One Camille Gottlieb, HRH the Princess of Hanover, HRH Princess Stéphanie, Mr and Mrs Louis Ducruet and Miss Pauline Ducruet.
The maiden voyage of Monaco One
Attending the event were the Councillor of the Liguria Region, Enrico Ioculano, the Mayor of Ventimiglia, Gaetano Scullino, the Mayor of Dolceacqua, Fulvio Gazzola, T.V. Carmela D’Abronzo, Commander of Circomare Sanremo, Marshal Giovanni Larizza, Commander of the Ventimiglia Beach Delegation and of Cala del Forte harbour, Gian Battista Borea D’Olmo, General Manager of the Ports of Monaco and Managing Director of Cala del Forte, and Marco Cornacchia, Director of Cala del Forte.
At the end of the religious ceremony officiated by Monsignor Dominique-Marie David, Archbishop of Monaco, and of the traditional rite of the bottle, duly broken on the hull after the ribbon-cutting ceremony performed by the godmother Camille Gottlieb, the Grimaldi family, accompanied by President Keusseoglou, boarded Monaco One to take part in the inaugural sea trip.
Monaco One is built in glass/carbon sandwich, 12.00 meters long by 7.50 meters wide, powered by two Yanmar engines of 350 hp each, it has an autonomy of 250 miles, covers the distance between Monaco and Ventimiglia in less than 15 minutes at a speed of 45 knots, transporting up to 12 guests in absolute comfort. Thanks to the aerodynamic solutions used, which allow fuel consumption to be halved at high speed compared to conventional vessels, the boat combines the need for speed, reliability and respect for the environment.
Monaco One will soon be equipped with an innovative monitoring device called REPCET, which allows real-time tracking of large cetaceans, thus contributing to the protection of marine mammals.
(Monaco One, official ceremony and first sea trip- Barchemagazine.com – March 2021)
