The ships that are used allow for the loading of all kinds of ro/ro units, like vehicles and self-propelled construction machines, as well as conventional and project cargo with item weights of up to 75 tons, including any rolltrailers that may be used.
With a gross register tonnage of 38,650, the Grande Sicilia has a length of 176 meters, a breadth of 31 meters and a maximum draught of 8.75 meters. It is registered at the Italian port of Palermo. Its eleven decks can carry up to 4500 vehicles or other ro/ro cargo.
Seaborne goods traffic between the Port of Hamburg and the Mediterranean reached a total volume in excess of 4.5 million tons in the year 2007.
Some 30 services in all that connect Northern Europe with the Mediterranean call at the Port of Hamburg.