Moby has lost the availability of the Maria Grazia Onorato, which has been leased to P&O Ferries as part of a settlement reached between Onorato's company and the Siem shipyard. The recently built ship (IMO 9848479), constructed in 2019, has been renamed Longstone and now sails under the Maltese flag. It has shifted from its Mediterranean routes to those connecting Belgium with Great Britain, specifically on the Tilbury-Zeebrugge-Hull rotation.
The situation began with a twelve-year lease agreement (with a purchase option) for the Maria Grazia Onorato and Alf Pollak to Moby by Siem, which had built the two ships at the German Flensburger shipyard. In 2019, the Italian company initially deployed them on the Genoa-Livorno-Catania-Malta route. However, in 2024, after the MSC Group acquired a 49% stake in Moby, Siem invoked a clause in the lease contract allowing for the return of the two Ro-Ro vessels in the event of a reduction in the Onorato family's control.
This led to a legal battle, with Siem obtaining the seizure of the vessel Moby Ale 2 in Ajaccio in June and the arrest of the Maria Grazia Onorato in Sète, after winning an arbitration. By late July 2024, Moby and Siem reached an out-of-court settlement to resolve all outstanding issues: the Moby Ale 2 was released, but Moby had to permanently relinquish the lease on the two Ro-Ro vessels Maria Grazia Onorato and Alf Pollak, which returned to Siem’s full control. The Alf Pollak, now renamed Lismore, is currently operating for Dfds on the Turkey-Italy route.
