Athara

Under the orders of the Court of Milan, the 'Moby Aki' (IMO: 9299393), 'Moby Wonder' (IMO: 9214367), 'Moby Ale Due' (IMO: 9222522), 'Athara' and the 'Janas' (IMO: 9222534) were due to be sold at auction next week with a starting price of €229.9 million for the single lot. The 'Moby Aki' and the 'Moby Wonder' must be chartered back to Moby for a period of 15 years at a daily rate of €15,000 ($17,200) per day. Tihs came a few days after the Italian Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) ruled the Mediterranean Shipping Co’s stake in the operator could erode competition. MSC sold its stake in the Italian ferry operator after that. The MSC subsidiary Shipping Agencies Services bought the minority stake in Moby, which runs ferry services between the Italian mainland and the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, back in 2022 when the operator was facing insolvency. But the AGCM opened an investigation in Nov 2024 due to competition concerns, as SAS also owns Grandi Navi Veloci, which competes on some routes with Moby. A link between Grandi Navi Veloci (also owned by MSC subsidiary SAS) which might lead to a deterioration in competition on routes where GNV and Moby were competing. The SAS will therefore sell its 49% stake back to the original owner Onorato Armatori in a deal accepted by the competition authority.

On July 3, 2025, a passenger went missing on the 'Athara', en route to Olbia. The Olbia Maritime Directorate was coordinating the search for the 65-year-old man from Rome who boarded the ferry in Civitavecchia on July 2, but did not disembark the next morning at the port of Isola Bianca. The Olbia Maritime Authority was gathering information about the man and his recent movements. Images from the cameras installed on board the ferry have apparently been extracted. The search for the missing person was also ongoing at sea.

On Dec 16, 2020, at around 11 p.m. a fire broke out in the car deck of the 'Athara' which was enroute from Genoa, where she had sailed at 8.30 p.m. to Porto Torres with 172 passnegers and 43 crew members on board 40 miles from the port of departure. Due to the smoke that spread, there were scenes of fear and tension on board. In the cabins near the hold, the smoke was very dense and acrid, some passengers were very frightened. The fire, which damaged 20 cars and trailers in the affected deck, was quickly contained by the fire preventions systems and the crew. The captain immediately alerted the passengers, including many Sardinians who were returning to the island for the Christmas holidays, gathered them near the bar. The passengers were refreshed with sandwiches, soft drinks, hot drinks. The crew also provided them with everything we needed. The ferry reversed to Genoa, from where, as a precaution, the Port Authority of Genoa ordered the patrol boat 'CP 2110' to assist. The 'Athara' safely berthed on Dec 17 at 2 a.m., being awaited by dozens of firefighters, who quenched remaining hot sports and made the ship safe. Inspectors of the Genoa Coast Guard and RINA technicians went on board for investigations and surveys, coordinated by the Genoa Public Prosecutors's office. According to first reconstructions, the fire originated from a reefer truck and spread to nearby vehicles and trailers. The shipping company organized the transfer of passengers onto another ferry in the run of the day. The 'Athara' remained detained until the completion of investigations and a class inspection. Several trucks and cars have been taken out of the car deck, showing obvious signs of soot. No injuries were reported, and no one needed medical assistance. Only on Dec 11 a firefighting exercise had been held including the ferry in the port of Porto Torres, including a Mayday launched by the captain which required urgent intervention due to a fire in the engine room with a serious injury. Rescue operations were coordinated by the Port Authority of Porto Torreswith a patrol boat, the fire brigade, carabinieri, financial police and police. During the drill, a seafarer, with burns in various parts of his body, was taken over by the 118 medical staff who, after having given the first treatments, proceeded to transfer him by ambulance to the Santissima Annunziata hospital in Sassari. The purpose of the exercise was to verify the response times of the rescue vehicles and compliance with the procedures provided. All the technical-nautical services of the port of Porto Torres and the Sardinian Anti-Pollution Society participated in the exercise. Reports with photo and video: https://www.prealpina.it/pages/fiamme-in-stiva-traghetto-rientrato-in-porto-237152.html?from=interni-esteri https://www.unionesarda.it/articolo/news-sardegna/sassari-provincia/2020/12/17/incendio-nella-stiva-della-athara-fumo-e-fuliggine-momenti-di-pau-136-1094763.html

The "Cruise Bonaria" of Grimaldi and the "Athara" of Tirrenia were in allision on Jan 24, 2019, at noon. The "Athara" was about to depart from the Isola Bianca port in Olbia after she was caught by a strong wind gust and pushed against the berthed "Cruise Bonaria". Tugs could not avoid the accident, and the "Cruise Bonaria" was hit at starboard side and suffered damage to the outboard gangway and two large windows, while there were no injuries among the passengers. The "Athara" suffered damage to the dashboard wing at port side. She was expected to leave bound to Genova at 9.30 p.m. after emergency repairs. The "Cruise Bonaria" was able to sail as scheduled bound for Livorno where she was to be further inspected by the local authorities. Italian reports with videos: http://www.lanuovasardegna.it/olbia/cronaca/2019/01/24/news/olbia-il-vento-sbatte-le-navi-una-contro-l-altra-collisione-fra-traghetti-in-porto-1.17686337?refresh_ce https://www.unionesarda.it/articolo/news-sardegna/gallura/2019/01/24/olbia-collisione-fra-navi-al-porto-colpa-del-vento-136-826523.html