The first of two large cruise ferries building for Moby Lines was floated out at China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) shipyard earlier this month.
Named ’Moby Fantasy’, the two large ropaxes will replace four older vessels operating between Italy and Sardinia.
Ordered in 2019, each of the 69,500 gt ferries, designed by OSK ShipTech, will accommodate up to 2,500 passengers in 550 cabins. They will also have a capacity for up to 1,300 cars or 300 trucks.
Once in operation, they will use up to 30% less energy than the company’s current large vessels.
Each vessel will be fitted with Wärtsilä diesel engines and hybrid exhaust gas scrubbers. They have also been designed to switch from traditional fuel to LNG, as necessary. They will each have a cruising speed of 23.5 knots, with a maximum speed of 25 knots.
Moby had announced that due to delays related to the pandemic, ‘Moby Fantasy’ will now enter service in 2023 instead of next year and will be followed by her sistership ‘Moby Legacy’.
