Moby Group (Moby Lines, Tirrenia, Toremar)

[ropax]

"the agreement consists in the sale of Moby Zaza, Moby Corse, Bithia, Janas, Athara"

Zaza and Corse are very old ferries - normally without big future now. But the other 3 ca. 20 years old 215m long big ferries could be usefull for the next 15, 20 years for a number of other ferry-companies... . Maybe also with some rebuilt/renovation action it is possible for to get some more lm for trucks, some more cabins and less pullman-seats... ?
Actually these 3 ferries has 325 cabins with ca. 1200 beds + ca. 1000 pullman-seats and space for ca. 900 lm only.
Inside there is a cruise-ferry layout with restaurants, bars, showlounge, shops, cinema, disco etc. . But no front-windows... .
Very fast, nearly 30 knots are possible. Also here is the question if an economical fuel-consumption is possible with only ca. 18, 19, 20 knots... . 
GNV, Grimaldi and Corsica-Ferries maybe will be interested to buy these ferries also ?
For North-European-ferry-companies the lanemeters are much too less (TT, DFDS, IF etc.), the ships are too long (Polferries - Nynäshamn) or has much too less cabins (Viking Line f.ex.). Nobody in the north needs 1000 pullman-seats... .

But what happens with Moby Aki, Moby Wonder and Moby Tommy after start of the new Moby Fantasy (in january ?) and her new sister Moby Legacy ? These 3 ferries from 2001 and 2005 are officially for sale via shipbrokers since ca. 3 years... .
Maybe Moby has decided now to sale Athara, Bithia and Janas - but to hold Aki, Wonder and Tommy in the fleet ?

[hhvferry]

I think given where we are now there's a fair chance that any of the Tommy, Bithia, Athara or Janas could just be transferred over to the GNV fleet when the new ships arrive. Or, less likely, Moby Aki and Wonder.

Of course we're still not 100% past the point of the Moby Fantasy and Legacy still arriving in GNV colours which was a big rumour a couple of months ago.

Certainly though if GNV-MSC are calling the shots now at Moby to any significant degree there won't be sales of ships outside GNV/Moby purely for financial reasons.

[hhvferry]

The Moby Tommy is the latest to suffer from mechanical issues - as reported above by @ManiaNave she missed some sailings the other day on the Genoa-Porto Torres route and is now reduced to sailing chronically slowly (restricted to 14 or 15 knots) with warnings like this of five hour delays for sailings which are supposedly leaving on time.

This is not sustainable for the Porto Torres route which needs ships to do daily round trips at this time of year. Consequently in the next couple of days the Tommy is being switched with the Athara from the Olbia-Civitavecchia route (some interesting repositioning sailings for these two ships Genoa-Olbia/Olbia-Civitavecchia & v-v have been inserted in the booking engine for public sale).

The Civitavecchia run has a rather less demanding timetable and the Tommy will sail there, with 9h30 crossing times being advertised for the rest of the summer (compared to the usual 6 or 7 hours as offered by her new routemate the Bithia).

[ManiaNave]

all this will go on until 4 September

[ManiaNave]

Protests on board the Moby Tommy ferry in the port of Porto Torres, in fact the few passengers on board started a protest to understand the causes of the delay given that the ship was supposed to arrive in Genoa at 10 and leave at 22:30 from porto torres and only yesterday evening the passengers received a notice (on board) where it was written that the ship would leave at 11 pm from porto torres and would arrive in Genoa at 1:15 pm, moreover tirrenia warned them that this was justified for an operational reason, the passengers were offered lunch.

[ManiaNave]

New inefficiencies and new failures for Italian ferries. The Moby Wonder seems to have been traveling with 3 out of 4 engines for a few days since its speed has dropped from 26 knots to 24 knots, in fact the ship arrived in Piombino more than an hour late, its arrival was expected. at 1:45 pm she only arrived at about 3 pm

[ManiaNave]

New inefficiencies and new failures for Italian ferries. The Moby Wonder seems to have been traveling with 3 out of 4 engines for a few days since its speed has dropped from 26 knots to 24 knots, in fact the ship arrived in Piombino more than an hour late, its arrival was expected. at 1:45 pm she only arrived at about 3 pm

[hhvferry]

At this point it's nearly easier to list the Moby group ships which haven't had significant mechanical issues this summer. We must be up to at least ten vessels by now if we include Toremar and Tirrenia ships.

[ManiaNave]

of moby 12 ships failed except Moby Zaza, and Moby Corse

[hhvferry]

Via our friend ManiaNave, a picture of the two remaining Moby "cubes" (Moby Aki & Moby Wonder) unusually together, at Olbia.

Two remaining Moby "cubes" - Moby Aki & Moby Wonder - unusually together at Olbia.

Photo: mania_nave
 

[ManiaNave]

quella foto è molto vecchia risale al 2008, quando c'era ancora Moby Freedom nella flotta Moby Lines

[ManiaNave]

There would be important news on the Moby Prince disaster, the Navarma ferry that caught fire in the port of Livorno following the collision that took place on April 10, 1991, with the oil tanker Agip Abruzzo. 140 people died in the accident, including 4 from Molfetta, only one survivor. The commission of inquiry chaired by the parliamentarian Andrea Romano established beyond any doubt that the oil tanker Agip Abruzzo was in the no-anchor area (thanks also to the satellite photos made available by the military channels). He also determined that the tanker was enveloped, likely in a cloud of water vapor, just minutes before the collision with the Navarma ferry. While this was happening, there were flashes inside this cloud, to the point that the tanker became invisible, always before the collision. The findings collide with the testimony given by the Agip Abruzzo crew and confirm that '' prohibited maneuvers '' were in progress on board the tanker. Possibly the situation then got out of hand, even on the bridge of the Prince, who did not notice the presence of the tanker, relying only on the optical observations of the personnel in command.

[hhvferry]

Recent pictures of the Moby Kiss seem to show her bow visor in its closed position no longer sitting flush with the rest of the bow on the starboard side. Presumably not a safety thing as the visor isn't compromised as such and there's a watertight door behind it anyway. But not ideal.

Moby Kiss Bow Visor Issue

Photo: ships.med (fifth & sixth picture in the this Instagram set)

Moby Kiss Bow Visor

Photo: ships.med
 

[ManiaNave]

Giuseppe Sa sold to a Lebanese company . The Giuseppe Sa was sold to the EL YOUSSEF M & EL YOUSSEF A company based in Lebanon and raised the Togo flag 🇹🇬. The ship was sold to the Lebanese company at a price of 4.6 million.

Giuseppe Sa

[dogan]

While on holidays in Toscana this summer, I took the opportunity of staying in Pisa to make a day trip to Elba on 10th August.
I'm posting here as most of the ships pictured are belonging to Moby. 

We reached Piombino with Train+Bus on time to catch the 10.00 departure on Moby Niki, and returned with BluNavy Trimestieri on the 16.15 departure from Portoferraio.
Note that price for ticket is much more expensive with Moby than BluNavy : we paid 47€ for two people (no car) with Moby, and 22€ with BluNavy. I was expecting it as it's the prices shown on the website, and I really wanted to travel on Moby Niki as she's a more interesting ship, but it's strange to me to see such a difference for a short crossing !
In any case, if you have the opportunity, I recommand this trip, it's nice for us shiplovers, as well as for your family members, even without car : we enjoyed our time in Portoferraio and managed even to have a swim to cool down on a beach accessible by walk from the harbour of Portoferraio !

Moby Niki seemed in good state, both internally and externally. Plenty of outside deck to sit, which is really something missing on newer ferries. Also a lot of shadow under the life rafts, so we stayed outside the whole 1 hour journey.
The inside of Moby Niki is actually very small, I was somehow expecting it to be bigger, but I guess for such a small trip, all passengers are asking is a cafe, a cafeteria, a place to sit and a kids area. Inside is all decorated with Batman theme, except the carpets, reminding you it's a Moby ship, with colorful whales. I much prefer the Looney Tunes liveries but I guess it's just a question of taste !

     

Trimestieri ferry is also a very interesting ship, with a simple design : 2 huge car decks, and one deck above these for the passengers, with a long central lounge and bathrooms at both ends. There is a bit of outside deck on the sides, but with poor seating. On both ends, there is a bit of outside deck also, but very, very narrow. The upper car deck remained open to passengers during the crossing, and many were admiring the view from there. Her original name "KONINGIN BEATRIX" can still be read on her side, just painted white (last picture below) !

 

During the crossings, you can appreciate how many ships are serving Elba during summer. Most are Moby group, with at that time Moby Niki, Moby Ale, Moby Baby Two, Bastia for Moby, Stelio Montomoli, Rio Marina Bella, Oglasa, Marmorica, Giovanni Bellini and Schioparello Jet for Toremar.
Competitors are BluNavy twins Trimestieri and Acciarello, and Corsica Express Three.

Below are more pictures from these ships. More of these can also be viewed on my Shipspotting page : 
https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/gallery?user=19464&perPage=192&viewType=normal&sortBy=name

Five ferries in one picture ! From left to right : Rio Marina Bella, Acciarello, Stelio Montomoli, Oglasa and Moby Niki.


Moby Niki leaving Piombino on the late afternoon, while Bastia arrives from Cavo :


Moby veteran 'Moby Ale' in Portoferraio :


Moby Niki and Oglasa seem to race to Piombino !


Toremar ships : Stelio Montomoli (formerly Aethalia), Rio Marina Bella, Marmorica, Oglasa (x3)
    

Corsica Express Three : 
 

Acciarello :


Meeting other ships on the way gives great shipspotting opportunities : here is Moby Baby Two seen during both crossings :
​​​​​​​

[hhvferry]

We reached Piombino with Train+Bus on time to catch the 10.00 departure on Moby Niki, and returned with BluNavy Trimestieri on the 16.15 departure from Portoferraio.

Note that price for ticket is much more expensive with Moby than BluNavy : we paid 47€ for two people (no car) with Moby, and 22€ with BluNavy. I was expecting it as it's the prices shown on the website, and I really wanted to travel on Moby Niki as she's a more interesting ship, but it's strange to me to see such a difference for a short crossing !
In any case, if you have the opportunity, I recommand this trip, it's nice for us shiplovers, as well as for your family members, even without car : we enjoyed our time in Portoferraio and managed even to have a swim to cool down on a beach accessible by walk from the harbour of Portoferraio !

Thanks for the pictures, this really is a great place for a quick ferry trip and it looks like nice sunny Italian weather.

Having to get a bus down to the port most of the time is a real drag though, the Piombino branch line is very interesting and much better but the frequency of trains on it has been reduced over the past twenty years.

Moby Niki seemed in good state, both internally and externally. Plenty of outside deck to sit, which is really something missing on newer ferries. Also a lot of shadow under the life rafts, so we stayed outside the whole 1 hour journey.
The inside of Moby Niki is actually very small, I was somehow expecting it to be bigger, but I guess for such a small trip, all passengers are asking is a cafe, a cafeteria, a place to sit and a kids area. Inside is all decorated with Batman theme, except the carpets, reminding you it's a Moby ship, with colorful whales. I much prefer the Looney Tunes liveries but I guess it's just a question of taste ! 

The Moby Niki is an interesting ship, BF fans will definitely recognise her as essentially a slightly smaller version of the Quiberon, from the same yard a year or so earlier but a little shorter and narrower. As built decoratively they were similar too.

This Moby refit was done only a few years ago so should still look fresh. But I'm with you, Batman leaves me pretty cold whereas the Looney Tunes characters are a lot more fun both externally and internally. 

The Niki suffers from them not utilising all her space - especially the aft end of the main deck where the buffet restaurant and shop were in her previous guise (see deckplan here) which is permanently closed off to passengers. I guess the upstairs lounge (deck below the recliners) was also locked off?

During the crossings, you can appreciate how many ships are serving Elba during summer. Most are Moby group, with at that time Moby Niki, Moby Ale, Moby Baby Two, Bastia for Moby, Stelio Montomoli, Rio Marina Bella, Oglasa, Marmorica, Giovanni Bellini and Schioparello Jet for Toremar.
Competitors are BluNavy twins Trimestieri and Acciarello, and Corsica Express Three.

It's a reflection on some Italian petty corruption and deliberately toothless/defanged competition authorities that allowed Moby to buy Toremar giving them almost a monopoly on routes to Elba.

Back in the day these two were fierce rivals. Now with just three ships competing against a flotilla of Moby vessels the latter can ramp up their prices in the way you saw, safe in the knowledge that the system of allocating berthing slots in the ports on an incumbency basis means their rivals will struggle to expand their services. It should be a massive scandal but it doesn't seem to be.

[dogan]

Having to get a bus down to the port most of the time is a real drag though, the Piombino branch line is very interesting and much better but the frequency of trains on it has been reduced over the past twenty years.

Yes, it's not obvious where or how to pick the bus from the train station in Campiglia Marittima (which is not maritime at all !).
There was an earlier direct train to Piombino, but a bit too early for us.
On the way back, we managed to catch the direct 18.45 train from Piombino harbour to Pisa, which was much more practical. 
At least, trains are affordable, and on time ! We used them a few times during this holidays and never experienced any issues.
 

The Niki suffers from them not utilising all her space - especially the aft end of the main deck where the buffet restaurant and shop were in her previous guise (see deckplan here) which is permanently closed off to passengers. I guess the upstairs lounge (deck below the recliners) was also locked off?

I haven't seen any other area open than the "Cave cafe" and the "City Bar" mentionned on the Moby Niki deckplan. Nothing even indicates the presence of other available space. I guess many passengers don't realise that there are plenty on unused areas, if they don't have a close look at the deckplan !
 

[hhvferry]

Here's a quick summary of the disposition of the Moby Group fleet in the summer of 2022, before we forget what they were all up to.

Moby Lines branded
Moby Aki - Genoa-Olbia-Piombino
Moby Wonder - Genoa-Olbia-Piombino

Moby Drea - Genoa-Olbia
Moby Otta - Genoa-Olbia

Moby Ale - Piombino-Portoferraio
Moby Baby Two - Piombino-Portoferraio
Moby Kiss - Piombino-Portoferraio
Moby Niki - Piombino-Portoferraio

Moby Dada - Genoa-Bastia

Moby Vincent - Livorno-Bastia

Bastia - Piombino-Cavo
Giraglia - Santa Teresa di Gallura-Bonifacio

Moby Corse - chartered to SNAV for Ancona-Split route
Moby Zaza - finished Moby service in mid-June, then chartered to Balearia for Valencia-Algeria & Ibiza-Balearics (she moves next to Almeria-Nador)

Moby Fantasy - under construction, sea trials July 2022, delivery due late 2022
Moby Legacy - under construction


Tirrenia branded
Athara - Civitavecchia-Olbia (sometimes Piombino-Olbia), later switched to Genoa-Porto Torres in exchange for Moby Tommy
Bithia - Civitavecchia-Olbia (sometimes Piombino-Olbia)
Janas - Genoa-Porto Torres

Sharden - Livorno-Olbia (Moby service)
Nuraghes - Livorno-Olbia (Moby service)

Vincenzo Florio - Naples-Palermo
Raffaele Rubattino - Naples-Palermo

Moby Tommy - Genoa-Porto Torres, later switched to Civitavecchia Olbia after mechanical issues left her too slow for the PT route


Freighters
Giuseppe Lucchesi - Livorno-Olbia/Cagliari
Pietro Manunta - Livorno-Olbia/Cagliari

Beniamino Carnevale - Long-term laid up in Naples

Eliana Marino - Chartered to Hansa Destinations (Rederi AB Gotland) for Nynashamn-Rostock service
Alf Pollack - Chartered to CLdN
Maria Grazia Onorato - Chartered to CLdN


Toremar branded
Oglasa - Piombino-Portoferraio
Marmorica - Piombino-Portoferraio
Liburna - Livorno-Gorgona-Capraia (& some Piombino-Elba)
Stelio Montomoli - Piombino-Portoferraio (& a bit of Livorno-Capraia)
Giovanni Bellini - Piombino-Elba

Rio Marina Bella - Piombino-Rio Marina

Giuseppe Rum - Porto Santo Stefano-Giglio
Schiopparello Jet - Piombino-Cavo-Portoferraio


Moby-SPL
SPL Princess Anastasia - extracted from Russian waters; laid up in Messina since mid-June in a plain grey/white livery

[ManiaNave]

ah I forgot, the Giuseppe Lucchesi was hired in Cotunav

[hhvferry]

ah I forgot, the Giuseppe Lucchesi was hired in Cotunav

Is that confirmed? She's still doing Liv-Sardinia for now.

[ManiaNave]

il noleggio deve ancora iniziare

[hhvferry]

ah I forgot, the Giuseppe Lucchesi was hired in Cotunav

She is now in service with Cotunav, running Genoa to Tunis.

[ManiaNave]

Yes 

[hhvferry]

The first cut of the 2023 Moby summer schedules have been released with the opening of bookings for Sardinia, Corsica, Elba and Sicily until next October.

There's not too many changes. Not unexpectedly there's nothing for SPL Princess Anastasia, Moby Corse and Moby Zaza - the latter two were chartered to SNAV and Balearia this summer and no reason to think they won't continue (Zaza remains in service through the winter, the Corse has just recently returned to Livorno at the end of her extended season with SNAV on the Ancona-Split route).

The arrival of the Moby Fantasy on the Livorno-Olbia route from January sees the Sharden switch to Civitavecchia to Olbia and the Janas is the ship to drop out of the schedules for next summer. She's a substantial and still quite modern ship so it will be interesting to see what happens to her - a transfer to GNV perhaps? The sister to the Fantasy, the Moby Legacy, is still supposedly due for delivery before next summer but she doesn't appear in the schedules anywhere, the Nuraghes remaining on the Livorno-Olbia route alongside the Fantasy.

The other thing of note is the return of the fast day trips between Genoa and Bastia on Corsica with the Moby Aki and Moby Wonder. These were part of the original conception of the Wonder and her first sister the Moby Freedom when they were first introduced. Last summer the two ships sat in port all day between overnight crossings on the Genoa-Olbia route with Genoa-Bastia crossings served by the Moby Dada (ex-Queen of Scandinavia). This year, on summer Saturdays and Sundays they will return to Bastia, supplementing the Dada's daily round trips.

Not much change on the Elban routes but the veteran Moby Ale will be back for her 54th summer. Next year she returns to the shorter Piombino-Cavo route with nothing yet allocated for the Bastia which did this route in 2022.

One last thing - the schedules for the Sardinia to Corsica operation between Santa Teresa di Gallura and Bonifacio have yet to be released (that's not unusual and we can expect the Giraglia to run this route again). However hidden away in Moby's booking engine is an option to select sailings between Palau and Bonifacio, with no sailings attached to it yet. That would be a new and intriguing route if it came into being - Palau is half an hour's drive away from S. T. di Gallura, but commensurately nearer to Olbia, and would be maybe an hour and a half crossing compared to the existing route's 50 minutes. I'm not sure it's a particularly logical route and it may be nothing (perhaps a through bus connection?) but it's something to keep an eye on. Palau, and the short crossing from there to the adjacent island of Maddalena was ground zero for Moby Lines (then Nav.Ar.Ma), being the company's first ever route back in 1959, so sailing from there would be a nostalgic return.

Moby Group Summer 2023 fleet allocation as at 20 October 2022 (passenger ships only)

Moby Lines branded
Moby Fantasy - Livorno-Olbia
Moby Legacy - no allocation yet although they still say she is due for delivery by next summer. Will go to Livorno-Olbia when delivered in place of the Nuraghes.

Moby Aki - Genoa-Olbia-[Piombino-Olbia]-Genoa[-Bastia-Genoa] (Piombino & Bastia day returns 1 x weekly to each port by each ship)
Moby Wonder - Genoa-Olbia-[Piombino-Olbia]-Genoa[-Bastia-Genoa] (Piombino & Bastia day returns 1 x weekly to each port by each ship)

Moby Drea - Genoa-Olbia
Moby Otta - Genoa-Olbia

Moby Ale - Piombino-Cavo
Moby Baby Two - Piombino-Portoferraio
Moby Kiss - Piombino-Portoferraio
Moby Niki - Piombino-Portoferraio

Moby Dada - Genoa-Bastia

Moby Vincent - Livorno-Bastia

Bastia - TBC
Giraglia - TBC but expect to do Santa Teresa di Gallura-Bonifacio, schedules have not yet been published for this route

Moby Corse - No allocation, chartered to SNAV for Ancona-Split route in summer 2021 and 2022
Moby Zaza - No allocation, currently chartered to Balearia



Tirrenia branded
Athara - Genoa-Porto Torres
Bithia - Civitavecchia-Olbia-Piombino-Olbia-Civitavecchia
Janas - No allocation

Sharden - Civitavecchia-Olbia-Piombino-Olbia-Civitavecchia
Nuraghes - Livorno-Olbia (Moby service)

Vincenzo Florio - Naples-Palermo
Raffaele Rubattino - Naples-Palermo

Moby Tommy - Genoa-Porto Torres


Toremar branded
Oglasa - Piombino-Portoferraio
Marmorica - Piombino-Portoferraio
Liburna - Livorno-Gorgona-Capraia
Stelio Montomoli - Piombino-Portoferraio
Giovanni Bellini - Piombino-Rio Marina

Rio Marina Bella - Piombino-Rio Marina, Piombino-Portoferraio

Schiopparello Jet - Piombino-Cavo-Portoferraio

Giuseppe Rum - Porto Santo Stefano-Giglio


Moby-SPL
SPL Princess Anastasia - no allocations, ship is still laid up in Messina

[hhvferry]

One last thing - the schedules for the Sardinia to Corsica operation between Santa Teresa di Gallura and Bonifacio have yet to be released (that's not unusual and we can expect the Giraglia to run this route again). However hidden away in Moby's booking engine is an option to select sailings between Palau and Bonifacio, with no sailings attached to it yet. That would be a new and intriguing route if it came into being - Palau is half an hour's drive away from S. T. di Gallura, but commensurately nearer to Olbia, and would be maybe an hour and a half crossing compared to the existing route's 50 minutes. I'm not sure it's a particularly logical route and it may be nothing (perhaps a through bus connection?) but it's something to keep an eye on. Palau, and the short crossing from there to the adjacent island of Maddalena was ground zero for Moby Lines (then Nav.Ar.Ma), being the company's first ever route back in 1959, so sailing from there would be a nostalgic return.

And now the Palau-Bonifacio route is explained:

[In Italian] Works in the port of Santa Teresa: to go to Corsica we leave from Palau.

Crossing time as estimated is 1h30.

The Giraglia of Moby, from November 1st, will make two round trips to reach Bonifacio

October 26, 2022

Palau Temporary boarding for Corsica: leaving from Palau. Change of location for the connection between Sardinia and Corsica from 1 November to 15 December, with the ship of the Moby company which will have the port of Palau as its operational base, given that infrastructure works will be carried out on the quay of Santa Teresa Gallura.

The authorization was granted by the Port Authority of La Maddalena, which also formalized the timetable of the route: departures from Palau in the morning at 0700 and in the afternoon at 1610, returns from Bonifacio at 1225 and at 1900 The crossing will last a total of an hour and a half.