SPL PRINCESS ANASTASIA. Photo: Mike Louagie

Moby teams up with St. Peter Line for Baltic operations

Ferry After many rumours Moby Lines announced they officially sealed a joint-venture with Russian group St. Peter Line, operating mini-cruises in the Baltic, from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn.
The Italian company stated that the partnership will be formalized by establishing and that the new business plan envisages chartering the two ferries owned by St. Peter Line out to Moby. The joint-venture's brand name is Moby SPL.

The PRINCESS MARIA was renamed MOBY DADA and will be engaged on the Nice-Bastia line during 2017 summer after completion of refitting operations (she's now in the Genoa shiprepair area). This unit was chartered out to St. Peter Line by DFDS. Moby have acquired the ship.

The SPL PRINCESS ANASTASIA (2,500 passengers and 580 cars), owned by St. Peter Line, will be chartered out to Moby to deploy her in the Baltic Sea, even in winter season. The aim is to enhance operating performance and foster tourism (particularly Italian one). A new cruise product will be created where Moby Lines enters its Mediterranean expertise and flavour.

The one ship operation will have a new schedule (as from April 2).
Sunday: departure from St Petersburg and night crossing to Helsinki.
Monday: 1.5 hour stop in Helsinki and crossing to Tallinn.
Tuesday: Stockholm
Wednesday: Helsinki
Thursday to Friday: overnight in St Petersburg, as hotel.
Friday-Sunday: St. Petersburg - Helsinki - St. Petersburg.

The new cruise product will be launched in April 2017.

Achille Onorato, Managing Director and Vice President, and Alessandro Onorato, Vice President and Executive Director, pinpointed how the new Russian joint-venture will strengthen the group's fleet in the Mediterranean and allow the entering of a new market, the Baltic Sea.

© Shippax / Angelo Scorza / Mike Louagie