Moby Lines

 

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]

Ship	Flag	Built	Entered service	Gross tonnage	Length	Width	Passengers	Vehicles	Knots	Image
Giraglia		1981	1981	2,041 GT	75 m	13 m	400	100	18
Moby Niki		1974	2016	9,089 GT	118,7 m	18,5 m	1,440	373	18
Moby Kiss		1975	2016	11,977 GT	115.35 m	20.6 m	1,600	420	18
Moby Zazà		1982	2015	22,161 GT	153 m	24.2 m	2,048	530	20
Moby Drea		1975	2003	22,528 GT	185 m	27 m	1,900	500	27
Moby Otta		1976	2006	22,528 GT	185 m	27 m	1,900	500	27
Moby Tommy		2002	2007	28,915 GT	212 m	25 m	2,200	580	30
Vincenzo Florio		1999	2024	31,041 GT	180.3 m	26.8 m	1.471	630	23
Raffaele Rubattino		2000	2024	31,041 GT	180.3 m	26.8 m	1.471	630	23
Moby Dada		1981	2016	34,093 GT	169.1 m	28.5 m	1,538	500	22
Moby Ale Due		2001	2024	35,736 GT	214 m	26.4 m	2,700	900	29.5
Moby Wonder		2001	2024	36,093 GT	175 m	27 m	2,200	750	29
Moby Aki		2005	2005	36,284 GT	175 m	27 m	2,200	750	29
Moby Orli		1986	2017	37,583 GT	176.8 m	32.9 m	2,500	580	22
Moby Fantasy		2021	2023	69,500 GT	237 m	32 m	3,000	1,300	23.5
Moby Legacy		2023	2024	69,500 GT	237 m	32 m	3,000	1,300	23.5

• Maria Maddalena (1959-1978) as Maria Maddalena for SNAP since 2005
• Elba Prima (1967-2007) scrapped as Prima in Aliaga, Turkey in 2008
• Portoferraio (1974-2001) as Bomaris Legend for Bomaris Shipping since 2016.
• Citta di Piombino (1978-2002) as Don Peppino for GesTour since 2010.
• Moby Blu (1982-2003) scrapped as Moby B in Alang, India in 2003.
• Moby Prince (1985-1991) in 11th April 1991 the ship departured from Livorno and collided with the tanker Agip Abruzzo; the ship caught fire and 141 passengers died onboard. In 1998 the ship partially sank in the port of Livorno and then the ship sold for scrap in Aliaga, Turkey in 1998.
• Moby Dream (1986-1994) scrapped as Sardegna Bella in Aliaga, Turkey in 2001.
• Moby Quest (1975-2009) scrapped as Fantasy Emerald in Chittagong Bangladesh in 2009
• Moby Love (1986-1993) scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey in 2011.
• Moby Will (1988-1993) scrapped as Aljubi in Alang, India in 2007.
• Moby King (1989-2002) scrapped in Alang, India in 2002.
• Moby Baby (1990-2017) scrapped as Anemos in Aliaga, Turkey in 2018.
• Moby Vincent (1990-2024) scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey in 2024.
• Moby Fantasy (1992-2013) Laid Up in Valletta Malta Since in 2013.
• Moby Magic (1997-2005) scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey in 2005.
• Moby Love (1998-2017) as Sporades Star for Seajets since 2021.
• Moby Gum (1998-2003) scrapped as Moby G in Bombay, India in 2004.
• Moby Rider (1998-2007) scrapped as M. River in Alang, India in 2007.
• Moby Freedom (2001-2012) as Finlandia for Eckerö Line since 2019.
• Luigi Pa (1987-2017) former Isola delle Stelle for Lloyd Sardegna, as Cenk M since 2019.
• Giuseppe Sa (2006-2022) former Isola delle Perle for Lloys Sardegna, sold to an Arabic company in 2022.
• Eliana M (2006-2007) former Golfo del Sole for Lloyd Sardegna, scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey in 2012.
• Maria Grazia On. (2006-2007) former Golfo degli Angeli for Lloyd Sardegna, as Venezia for Grimaldi Lines since 2019.
• Golfo Aranci (2006-2007) as Florencia for Grimaldi Lines since 2007.
• Massimo M. (2010-2013) Scrapped in 2013.
• Moby Vinci (2023-2024) Sold to Grandi Navi Veloci in 2024.
• Pietro Manunta (2016-2024) Sold to SALEM AL MAKRANI CARGO CO in 2024.
• Moby Corse (2009-2024) Sold to Ferry Med in 2024.
• Bastia (1974-2024) Sold to Alilauro Gru.So.N. in 2024.
• Moby Ale (1990-2024) Scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey in 2024.
• Moby Baby Two (1974-2024) Scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey in 2024

• Livorno ↔ Olbia: Moby Fantasy / Moby Aki
• Genoa ↔ Porto Torres (stop in Ajaccio): Moby Ale Due / Moby Tommy
• Civitavecchia ↔ Olbia: Raffaele Rubattino
• Palermo ↔ Olbia: Moby Orli / Vincenzo Florio
• Piombino ↔ Bastia: Moby Niki
• Golfo Aranci ↔ Porto Vecchio: Moby Zazà

• Moby Lines at Simplon Postcards, retrieved 3. 7. 2007

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moby Lines.

• Company website
• Moby Lines at Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish)
• MobyAki.it