Moby-Otta

The 'Moby Ott' has been sold to the Hoyu International Group Ltd. based in the China, renamed 'Elpis' and registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis. On Oct 1, the ferry shifted from Genova to Livorno, where it remained stationary as of Oct 16, awaiting its departure for the Far East for further operations. The sale of the fomer ' Moby Otta' followe that of her sister ship 'Moby Drea', which was sold in April to the Italian company MedFuel Srl. She was later unsuccessfully sent for scrapping in Turkey, where the import permit was revoked after it became clear that the ship contained a higher amount of asbestos-contaminated material than Turkish regulations allow for the import of vessels for dismantling. Instead, she was towed to Split, where Brodosplit Shipyard was supposed to carry out asbestos removal. However, this was also prevented by Croatian authorities following local protests. As a result, the ferry under tow by the Greek tug 'Protug 75', had to return to Crotone on Sep 6. Both ships were operated by the Swedish company Salenrederierna AB and its Tor Line service between Gothenburg, Felixstowe, and Amsterdam.

The 'Moby Otta', a sister ship to the disputed 'Moby Drea', could soon be sold by Moby, followed by a refit and charter to an operator who would operate it between the ports of Brindisi and Durres. The Med Fuel management as owner of the 'Moby Drea', however, has opted out of this transaction. The vessel has been negotiated on the shipbroking market, but not with the the Messina-based company Med Fuel, because the asking price was regarded as being too high. If it were to be offered at a price it could afford, MEd Fuel could make an assessment, but as of now it not in the market.

After the 'Moby Drea' was towed to the Split shipyard Brodosplit, where over the next two months, around 350 tons of metal panels will be removed, inside of which a layer of around 100 tons of asbestos has been compressed, the 'Moby Otta' will soon arrive in Split to undergo the same work. The ship is owned by the same Italian company and with similar characteristics. The value of this operationis estimated to be around half a million euros per ship. The panels will not be cut or crushed in the Split shipyard, and even the screw holes will be poured with water and detergent. The problem arose when journalists asked Jurišić where the removed panels would actually end up. Turkey has a limit on receiving a maximum of 50 tons of asbestos, and it is expected that the ship will contain at least 100 tons, or a total of 350 tons with heavy metal panels. Croatia does not have such restrictions.

The "Moby Otta" risked sinking during the crossing between Genoa and Porto Torres in October 2017, when the master decided to continue the journey despite a leak An expert opinion will establish the case on request of the Genoa Public Prosecutor to investigate the incident. Meanwhile the ship remains under seizure in Genova, and the company's request to return it to service was rejected. Five suspects were accused of misbehaviour, the head of the company, Giuseppe Savarese, the manager of Moby Security, Carlo Marco, the technical director, Alessandro Paone, the technical inspector, Giuseppe Muti, and the master of the ferry, Carlo Merlini.

Two passengers aboard the "Moby Otta" died on Sep 26, 2010, when their car plunged into the harbour basin in Genova. The "Moby Otta" had started to move just in the moment when the couple from Stuttgart was passing the vehicle ramp. 40 cars had passed the ramp before without problems, but when the engines suddenly started, the vessel moved forward, and a gap opened. The car fell and sank eight metres deep on the bottom. The woman was trapped in the car, her husband could be recovered but had to be pronounced dead. Why the machines started running, was unclear. Investigations are going on.