The voluntary sale procedure for the five ro-pax vessels in the Moby and Cin fleets has ended with the award of the single €229.9 million lot to Gianluigi Aponte’s MSC group. The online auction, initially scheduled for 12 November 2025 and then postponed due to the technical and financial complexity of the deal, concludes a crucial phase in the restructuring of the Onorato group. The proceeds will be used to repay the €243 million loan granted in 2023 by MSC through the Luxembourg company SAS, in line with commitments made to the Italian Competition Authority.
The lot included five of the group’s best-known ro-pax units: Moby Aki, Moby Wonder, Athara, Janas and Moby Ale 2. The deal envisaged two distinct sale structures. Moby Aki and Moby Wonder were sold under a sale and leaseback scheme: the buyer acquires the vessels but must simultaneously sign a fifteen-year bareboat charter with Moby, with a daily rate of €15,000 per ship and an obligation to maintain the Italian flag and the vessel names. The three units Athara, Janas and Moby Ale 2 are instead sold outright, with no return to the Onorato group’s operational fleet, and will most likely join the GNV fleet, the Aponte-controlled company.
The disposal of the ships is a key step in MSC’s withdrawal from Moby’s share capital as required by the antitrust proceedings launched in 2025 over potential concentrations involving Moby, MSC and GNV. Under the agreement approved by the Authority, Moby was required to divest part of its assets to repay the 2023 loan, while MSC had to disengage from the company structure. The €229.9 million auction therefore represents the operational step needed to comply with regulatory prescriptions and reduce the Onorato group’s debt exposure.
Alongside the industrial aspects, a further issue has emerged in recent weeks: the situation of Moby’s seafarers declared surplus following the disposal of the vessels. According to union sources, a preliminary understanding is said to have been outlined between Gianluigi Aponte and Vincenzo Onorato for the absorption of seafarers left without a position should the ships be acquired by MSC. The award of the lot now makes it necessary to clarify the numbers, timing and methods of any rehiring, including criteria for assignment to new routes and contractual terms. Workers’ organisations have requested immediate talks, stressing the need to ensure job continuity and safeguard technical skills considered strategic for passenger and freight navigation.
