Moby Lines

Last updated
Moby S.p.A.
IndustryPassenger transportation, Freight transportation
Founded1959
Headquarters Milan, Italy
Area served
Italy, France, Corsica, Sardinia
Key people
Vincenzo Onorato, Chairman
Subsidiaries St. Peter Line
Tirrenia
Toremar
Website www.moby.it
MS Moby Aki in Livorno, 2007. Moby Aki.jpg
MS Moby Aki in Livorno, 2007.

Moby Lines (Moby Lines S.p.A.) is an Italian shipping company that operates ferries and cruiseferries between the Italian or French mainland and the islands of Elba, Sardinia and Corsica. The company was founded in 1959 under the name Navigazione Arcipelago Maddalenino (NAVARMA for short).

Contents

In 2006 Moby Lines purchased Lloyd Sardegna. The company is known for using Warner Bros. Looney Tunes characters as the external livery of its ships. Notable events include the Moby Prince disaster in 1991, which resulted in the deaths of 140 people.

History

Moby Wonder in Livorno, 22 of February, 2011. Ferry Moby Wonder in Livorno on 22 Feb 2011.jpg
Moby Wonder in Livorno, 22 of February, 2011.

NAVARMA was founded in 1959 by Achille Onorato, and started traffic from Sardinia to the islands on coast of Sardinia with the small ferry M/S Maria Maddalena purchased from Denmark. In February 1966 NAVARMA purchased a second ferry, M/S Bonifacioo, and started service between Sardinia and Corsica. The company slowly expanded, purchasing another ferry in 1967 and taking delivery of two newbuilds in 1974 and 1981. With the larger fleet, new routes to the Italian mainland were also introduced.

In 1982 the company acquired M/S Free Enterprise II from Townsend Thoresen, renamed her M/S Moby Blu and painted her in the "blue whale" livery that later came to characterise Moby Lines (the company name still remained NAVARMA at this point). The Moby Blu was over twice the size of NAVARMA's previously largest ship. By 1988 four additional larger ferries (all with Moby-prefixed names) had joined by NAVARMA fleet and additional routes to the Italian mainland were opened.

In 1991 one of the ferries of the fleet, the Moby Prince, was involved in the worst disaster in the Italian merchant navy since World War II. This resulted in 140 deaths.

During the early 1990s NAVARMA acquired further used ferries, which replaced the Moby ferries acquired in the 1980s. During the same time "Moby Lines" was adopted as the official company name. From 1996 onwards the company fleet has grown radically with addition of new, larger and faster tonnage, including the newbuilt fast cruiseferries Moby Wonder, Moby Freedom and Moby Aki. Around 2003 Moby Lines entered an agreement with Warner Bros. to paint their vessels in liveries featuring Looney Tunes characters. However, only the larger ships have such liveries, the company's smaller ships either have similar graphics not featuring the Looney Tunes characters, or simply the Moby Lines' whale logo.

In 2020, in a departure away from Moby Lines' signature business model of acquiring vintage tonnage for its routes, it was announced that steel cutting has started for Moby Lines' two newbuild vessels on order from the Guangzhou Shipyard. These newbuilds will be 238 metres (784 feet) long and roughly 69,500 GT, and specifically designed for the 7-9 hour Livorno-Olbia ferry crossing. These newbuild twins are earmarked to replace the Moby Aki and Moby Wonder between 2022 and 2023. [1] [2]

Fleet

Current Ships

ShipFlagBuiltEntered service Gross tonnage LengthWidthPassengersVehiclesKnotsImage
Giraglia Flag of Italy.svg 198119812,041  GT 75 m13 m40010018 Moby Giraglia Bonifacio.jpg
Moby Niki Flag of Italy.svg 197420169,089  GT 118,7 m18,5 m1,44037318 Piombino 2018 1 (cropped).jpg
Moby Kiss Flag of Italy.svg 1975201611,977  GT 115.35 m20.6 m1,60042018 Kiss Piombino.jpg
Moby Zazà Flag of Italy.svg 1982201522,161  GT 153 m24.2 m2,04853020 Zaza Nice 2018.jpg
Moby Drea Flag of Italy.svg 1975200322,528  GT 185 m27 m1,90050027 MN Moby Drea 30-03-2011 Genova.JPG
Moby Otta Flag of Italy.svg 1976200622,528  GT 185 m27 m1,90050027 Moby Otta (03).jpg
Moby Tommy Flag of Italy.svg 2002200728,915  GT 212 m25 m2,20058030 Moby Tommy (02).jpg
Vincenzo Florio Flag of Italy.svg 1999202431,041  GT 180.3 m26.8 m1.47163023 Vincenzo Florio.png
Raffaele Rubattino Flag of Italy.svg 2000202431,041  GT 180.3 m26.8 m1.47163023 Raffaele Rubattino Moby.jpg
Moby Dada Flag of Italy.svg 1981201634,093  GT 169.1 m28.5 m1,53850022 Civitavecchia 2019 -Moby Dada (ship, 1981)i- by-RaBoe 076.jpg
Moby Ale Due Flag of Italy.svg 2001202435,736  GT 214 m26.4 m2,70090029.5 Moby Ale Due.png
Moby Wonder Flag of Italy.svg 2001202436,093  GT 175 m27 m2,20075029 Moby Wonder 07 IMO 9214367 @chesi (cropped).JPG
Moby Aki Flag of Italy.svg 2005200536,284  GT 175 m27 m2,20075029 Bateau Moby Aki Port - Bastia (FR2B) - 2021-09-12 - 4.jpg
Moby Orli Flag of Italy.svg 1986201737,583  GT 176.8 m32.9 m2,50058022 Moby Orli,laterale,sinistra,Livorno,2023,02.jpg
Moby Fantasy Flag of Italy.svg 2021202369,500  GT 237 m32 m3,0001,30023.5 Moby Fantasy, moored at Port of Livorno, dicembre, 2023, 01.jpg
Moby Legacy Flag of Italy.svg 2023202469,500  GT 237 m32 m3,0001,30023.5 Moby Legacy, lato destro, Livorno, 2024, 02.jpg

Former fleet

Routes

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References

  1. "Steel cutting starts on the first of Moby's next-generation ferries". 3 June 2020.
  2. "June (And early July) 2019 news roundup". 18 July 2019.

Further reading