MOBY DREA

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Moby Drea permitted to enter Taranto

The 'Moby Drea', which has been wandering the Mediterranean and along the Italian coast for weeks, searching for a berth to remove and dispose of asbestos-containing panels from its cabins, was permitted to enter Taranto on the night of Sep 17. After the local Port Authority initially had denied the vessel's entry into the port of Taranto, the Port Authority, led by Captain Leonardo Deri, granted the request from the captain of the tug 'Protug 75' to enter and moor at the port for safety reason, declaring it unsafe due to worsening weather conditions and requested a berth here in Taranto. On the morning, with the assistance of port services, it arrived in Taranto, where it will stay for the strictly necessary time without carrying out any work on board. If the towline had broken due to adverse weather conditions, the vessel would have been adrift without people on board in the Gulf of Taranto. This situation was unacceptable for the safety of navigation and the protection of the marine environment. The RINA towing certificates are also expiring and will therefore need to be renewed before the vessel can set sail again, still under tow. The Municipality of Taranto has updated that the situation is being constantly monitored and that the vessel's presence will be limited to the time strictly necessary to restore safety and allow navigation to resume. The mayor's position remains clear: the ship's cleanup cannot be carried out in Taranto. The administration is firmly requesting precise guarantees regarding compliance with safety and environmental procedures, to protect public health and the local area. For these reasons, ARPA Puglia and the Local Health Authority (ASL) will be involved, and will be required to carry out any extraordinary environmental and health checks.

CEO: Ferry will not be scrapped, but properly disposed of asbestos

The owner of the 'Moby Drea', the Messina-based company Med Fuel, has reassured that the ship will not be scrapped. The ferry was neither purchased by Moby nor sent to a shipyard in Croatia for scrapping. The ship has meanwhile reached the Calabrian coast under tow, but the port of Crotone has so far denied the availability of a dock. Davide Prestopino, the CEO of the company, said that sending the ship to Split to remove panels containing a percentage of encapsulated asbestos, was a responsible choice, also dictated by commercial reasons to increase the attractiveness on the charter market and increase the value, while there was no legal obligation to do so. The vessel could continue sailing as it has done so far and as other sister vessels plying Italian seas were doing. Therefore, rumours that the 'Moby Drea' was on the market seeking a scrapyard is denied. Regarding the removal and disposal of the panels, which must be entrusted to a specialized company with appropriate certifications, any omissions will be investigated and, if necessary, legal action taken. To carry out the task, the company in charge will board the ship, dismantle the panels in question, seal them according to the procedures required by current legislation, and transport them for final disposal, an operation not dissimilar to many interventions frequently conducted in many Italian and European ports. Med Fuel was intending to complete this work in Crotone now, but there were also options for carrying it out in other Italian and foreign shipyards in the Mediterranean. in the worst-case scenario, there could be 370 tons of panels containing a percentage of asbestos. Therefore, the asbestos on board could be around 60 tons, not hundreds as some have suggested.

Asbestos filled ferry towed to Crotone

The 'Moby Drea' was returning under tow to Crotone, being pulled by the tug 'Protug 75' (IMO: 9559781), operated by the Greek company Promarine, with an ETA as of Sep 7. The ship's future plans will be made public as soon as they are finalized. The return to Italy was coordinated and agreed upon with the General Command of the Port Authority. The Croatian Ministry of Transport's request, issued following protests from local residents, for the vessel to leave the port of Split and with no work, specifically, the disposal of asbestos panels, having been carried out at the Brodosplit shipyard, has thus been satisfied. In recent days, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform had intervened in the matter. The civic initiative 'Zdravi Split' lead protests demanding the ship leave Croatia, amid fears that the removal of 400 tons of asbestos would be carried out locally at the Brodosplit shipyard, exposing workers and residents to risks. For this reason, requests for its removal have been made. The open letters to the government emphasized that asbestos removal constitutes a ship recycling operation, strictly regulated by European Union law (Regulation 1257/2013) and the Basel Convention. The Brodosplit shipyard was not authorized to carry out demolition operations, therefore the ship should never have been authorized to enter Croatia for that work, according to the NGO. Two official inventories of hazardous materials dated Sep 10, 2024, and Jan 20, 2025, have further undermined trust. The first declared the presence of 64.30 tons of asbestos on board, while the second estimated almost 400 tons. This huge discrepancy raised serious concerns about oversight and transparency and reinforced the feeling that the 'Moby Drea' case was mishandled from the beginning. The platform warned that Turkey, a likely destination for demolition, could not be considered a responsible option, as Turkish ship recycling yards have repeatedly been criticized for unsafe practices, particularly in the handling and disposal of toxic substances like asbestos. Sending a ship with nearly 400 tons of asbestos to such facilities would endanger the health of workers and the surrounding communities. The shipowner and the Italian authorities, as the flag state, now have the responsibility to ensure that the ship is recycled in a certified European facility capable of managing its hazardous materials in full compliance with the law.