MS Moby Otta
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MS ''Moby Otta'' is a
cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while ot ...
, currently owned by the
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
-based
shipping company A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that is ...
Moby Lines Moby Lines (Moby Lines S.p.A.) is an Italian shipping company that operates ferries and cruiseferries between the Italian or French mainland and the islands of Elba, Sardinia and Corsica. The company was founded in 1959 under the name Navigazi ...
and operated on their
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
Olbia Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...
service. She was built in 1976 by
Flender Werke Flender Werke was a German shipbuilding company, located in Lübeck. It was founded in 1917 as a branch of Brückenbau Flender AG of Benrath on the Rhine. In 1926, it became a fully independent business and was renamed Lübecker Flenderwerke AG. I ...
,
Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
,
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
as MS ''Tor Scandinavia'' for
Tor Line The Tor Line was a freight shipping company. Together with its subsidiaries, the Tor Line operated a fleet of approximately 65 ro-ro, ro-pax and lo-lo ships, primarily on the North and Baltic Seas. It was ultimately purchased by Denmark- ...
. Between 1991 and 2006 she sailed as MS ''Princess of Scandinavia''.


History


Tor Line service

Tor Line had been established in 1966 by two
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
companies to operate car-passenger services between Sweden,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
with modern car-passenger
ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...
. By the early 1970s Tor Line had essentially defeated their main competitors on the route,
Rederi AB Svea Stockholms Rederi AB Svea (originally Sveabolaget, later often referred to as Rederi AB Svea or simply Svea) was a Swedish shipping company founded in the 1870s. It operated a wide variety of ships carrying freight and passengers around the wor ...
and
Swedish Lloyd Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
. To consolidate their leading position the company decided to order a pair of new state-of-the-art ferries for the service. The new ships were to be the fastest ferries in the world, as well as largest, except for the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
's ''Belorussiya'' class ships. The first sister, MS '' Tor Britannia'', was delivered in May 1975. Just a month earlier the keel had been laid for the second sister, to be called MS ''Tor Scandinavia''. ''Tor Scandinavia'' was eventually delivered on April 12, 1976. The two ships revolutionized trans-
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
traffic, being capable of speeds in excess of 27
knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...
s and offering services hitherto unknown on ferries in that route. Although technically modern in many ways, the ships' exteriors were quite traditional in their style, reminiscent more of
ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
s than ferries. The sole exception to this were two massive loading ramps in the rear of the ship, which were necessary as the ships had no forward car-gate (just a small car door on the forward starboard side for upper car deck exit only) for safety reasons. For all of its service with Tor Line, the ''Tor Scandinavia'' alternated with its sister on the routes
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
Immingham Immingham is a town and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England, on the south-west bank of the Humber, Humber Estuary, northwest of Grimsby. It was relatively unpopulated until the early 1900s, when the Great Central Railway began de ...
(later
Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...
) and
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. Already in autumn 1976 the ship had her first major accident, when she ran into a major storm on the North Sea. Nine windows were smashed and the ship started taking in water from the forward air intakes on the superstructure. Eventually the ship arrived in Amsterdam approximately 18 hours behind schedule. It soon turned out there weren't in fact enough passengers for both new ships during the winter season. As a result, Tor Line chartered the ''Tor Scandinavia'' as an expo-ship in January–February 1979 (to Holland Expo for use in the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
), again in January–April 1980 (to Scan-Arab Expo for a fair cruise around the Middle East and
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
) and again in December 1980 – April 1981 (again to Holland Expo for use in the Middle East). The winter passenger numbers weren't the only problem, and Tor Line started looking to form a partnership with another shipping company. In January 1980 Sessan Tor Line was formed as a collaborative company between Tor Line and
Sessan Line Sesan or Sessan may refer to: Places * Sesan District, Stung Treng Province, Cambodia * Tonlé San, also known as the Sesan River, in Vietnam and Cambodia People * Gbenga Sesan (born 1977), Nigerian entrepreneur * Jorge Sesán, actor and director ...
, another Swedish company that had traffic between Gothenburg and
Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast on the North Jutlandic Island in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. As a result, Sessan Line's mermaid-logo was added alongside Tor Line's logo in the Tor ships' funnels. Sessan Tor Line proved to be short-lived however, and in April 1981 the collaboration ended.


DFDS / Scandinavian Seaways service

In December 1981 Tor Line was sold to the Danish company
DFDS DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally ''The United Steamship Company''). DFDS was founded in 1866, when Carl Frederik Tietgen, C.F. Tiet ...
. The only immediate change for ''Tor Scandinavia'' was that her homeport was altered from Gothenburg to
Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...
, Denmark. She soon received DFDS's white hull and dark funnel colours (as opposed to the dark hull and white funnel of Tor Line), however she was officially marketed as a ''DFDS Tor Line'' ship due to the good reputation of Tor Line in Sweden. Between October 1982 and February 1983 ''Tor Scandinavia'' was again chartered as an expo-ship to Dutch companies. This time her name was temporarily changed to MS ''World Wide Expo'' and she sailed extensively in Asia and the Middle East. After the end of the charter she returned to Sweden–England traffic, although the English terminus was altered from Felixstowe to
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
. Later in the same year DFDS decided to abandon the line to Amsterdam completely, and use only one ship—''Tor Scandinavia''—on the Gothenburg to Harwich route, whereas the ''Tor Britannia'' sailed from Harwich to Esbjerg. In 1981, ''Tor Scandinavia'' also starred in the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
'', which was shot entirely on board the ship. For the second and third series the DFDS ship, MS ''Dana Anglia'' was used instead due to a greater amount of time in port which made recording easier. In 1988 DFDS adopted a new marketing name, ''Scandinavian Seaways'', for their passenger division. As a result, the ''Tor Scandinavia'' was painted in a new, attractive white-and-blue livery, but the change also meant disappearance of the name Tor Line from her hull. However, she and her sister did still retain their original names. In the same year the ship was moved to Danish International Shipregistry, which meant less operational costs for the company. In 1989 Scandinavian Seaways decided to start trafficking from Gothenburg to Amsterdam again, so from February 1989 onwards ''Tor Scandinavia'' alternated on the routes Gothenburg–Harwich and Gothenburg–Amsterdam. In September of the same year a fire broke out on board during a crossing to Harwich, and the ship was forced to sail to Esbjerg instead. From there she continued to
Nobiskrug Nobiskrug is a shipyard located on the Eider River in Rendsburg, Germany, specialized in building innovative, custom-made luxury yacht, luxury superyachts. In 2020 it celebrated its 115 years of operation. History Nobiskrug was founded in ...
,
Rendsburg Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...
, Germany for repairs. During the 1990 summer season the ship's route was altered to Gothenburg–
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
, and from August 1990 onwards to Gothenburg–Harwich–Esbjerg, alongside the old Gothenburg–Amsterdam service. During January and February 1991 the ''Tor Scandinavia'' was rebuilt at
Blohm + Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Irma Blohm (1909–1997), German pol ...
,
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. After the rebuilding she received a new name, MS ''Princess of Scandinavia'', to bring her name in-line with Scandinavian Seaways' other ships (her sister had been renamed MS ''Prince of Scandinavia'' a few months earlier). In 1994 the ship occasionally sailed between
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...
, Norway, and
IJmuiden n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port town in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality of Velsen which lies mainly to the south-ea ...
, the Netherlands. In June of the same year problems with one of the propellers meant the ship's speed was limited to . While docked in Kristiansand to fix the problem the ship capsized, causing extensive damage. To conform to new safety regulations the ''Princess of Scandinavia'' was rebuilt with side
sponsons Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spons ...
in January–March 1998 at
Gdańsk Shipyard The Gdańsk Shipyard (, formerly Lenin Shipyard) is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk, northern Poland. The yard gained international fame when Polish trade union Solidarity () was founded there in September 1980. It is sit ...
,
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. From the same year onwards her itineraries also changed somewhat: she served Gothenburg–Harwich all year round, but alongside that she served Gothenburg–
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
during the winter season and Gothenburg–Newcastle during the summer season. In 1999 DFDS abandoned the marketing name Scandinavian Seaways and the company name reverted to DFDS Seaways. In March 2000 the ship's itineraries were changed again, from thereon she served Gothenburg–Kristiansand–Newcastle all year round. The route change was partially dictated by the end of
tax free Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
sales in intra- EU traffic, as calling in Norway allowed the continuation of tax free sales on board. During a crossing to Kristiansand in the night between May 17 and 18, 2002, a fire broke out in the ship's engine room between the two main engines and spread to the funnel. The fire was put in the morning of the 18th, and the ship could continue its journey towards Kristiansand. Between May 21 and June 14 the ship was repaired at Fredericia shipyard,
Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, after which she was back in normal traffic. The ship spent January 2004 laid up in Gothenburg where her interiors were brought up to date. In January 2005 she was again rebuilt, this time with a new sprinkler system and catalytic converters, and her cabins and public areas were upgraded. However, despite these changes the end was near for the ship's service with DFDS. She spent January 2006 laid up in Gothenburg, after which she momentarily served on the Newcastle–IJmuiden route during the time when MS ''Duke of Scandinavia'' had already been chartered to
Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France, England, Ireland, Spain and the ...
, but her replacement MS ''King of Scandinavia'' was not yet ready for service. After this brief stint on the Dutch service Princess returned to Gothenburg–Kristiansand–Newcastle service. At this time (possibly earlier?) a 23-hour cruise from Gothenburg to Kristiansand and back was done every Friday. On September 6, 2006 DFDS Seaways reported that it had purchased MS ''Fjord Norway'' from the Norway-based
Fjord Line Fjord Line is a Norwegian ferry operator offering services between Norway and Denmark. In addition to passenger transport, Fjord line operates cargo transport through its cargo division in Norway and Denmark. History Fjord Line was founded ...
, and would be continuing the ship's traffic from the UK to Norway. As a result of this the ''Princess of Scandinavia'' was sold and would stop trading for DFDS on 1 November of the same year. The buyer was later revealed to be
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
Moby Lines Moby Lines (Moby Lines S.p.A.) is an Italian shipping company that operates ferries and cruiseferries between the Italian or French mainland and the islands of Elba, Sardinia and Corsica. The company was founded in 1959 under the name Navigazi ...
, who had already bought the Princess' sister in 2003. When the ''Princess of Scandinavia'' was taken out of service, it marked the end of 160 years of direct passenger ship traffic between Sweden and Great Britain (apart from the years during WW2 when then this route was also closed). The vessel was withdrawn due to its age and high fuel consumption.


Moby Lines service

On 2 November 2006 Moby Lines took over the ''Princess of Scandinavia'' in Frederikshavn, Denmark, and she was renamed M/S ''Moby Otta''. Between November 2006 and May 2007 she was rebuilt with a higher car-capacity and her cabin arrangements were altered. Originally, it was reported that the ''Moby Otta'' would open a new route for Moby Lines, connecting
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
and
Porto Torres Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...
. With her sister MS ''Moby Drea'' she serves on the
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
route from the end of May until the end of October. In September 2010, two tourists were killed in an accident as a vehicle ramp was moved whilst they were driving off the ''Moby Otta'' in Genoa.


References


External links

*
''Tor Scandinavia'' at Fakta om Fartyg


a
Simplon Postcards

Moby Lines company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moby Otta Cruiseferries Ships built in Lübeck 1975 ships