Mediterranean and Asian trading buyers have been buying up older ro-ro vessels in recent weeks that many thought would be of interest only to ship recyclers.

Heading for a new career with Hatay RoRo of Turkey is Moby Lines’ 12,600-gt ro-ro vessel Luigi PA (built 1975). TradeWinds understands that Hatay had also hoped to purchase an identical sistership, the Giuseppe SA (built 1975), but was only able to acquire one vessel after Moby changed its mind about selling the other unit.

Mexican operator Baja Ferries’ 16,800-gt ro-pax ferry La Paz Star (built 1978) was also expected to go to demolition sources when it was put on the market several months ago. But reports indicate that it will be heading for a new career in the Mediterranean under the ownership of Cypriot-registered Med Ferry 1 Ltd.

Ferry sources say that Med Ferry 1 is owned by Greek investors in conjunction with ferry owner Gerasimos Strintzis.

It has also emerged this week that Sunstone Ships of Miami brokered a deal a couple of months ago to sell the 11,500-gt ropax vessel Warrior Spirit (built 1980) to Filipino ro-ro and general cargo operator Key West Shipping Line Corp.

The ferry has spent a number of years operating a service in the Caribbean between Trinidad and Tobago, and last week showed up in the South African port of Durban to take on bunkers while en route to the Philippines.

No prices have been mentioned for any of these transactions.

Some ferry sources suggest that a general decline in the volume of ro-ro and ropax ferries built for Japanese domestic operators over the past few years has resulted in a shortage of availability of secondhand ships, giving older vessels deemed ripe for the scrapyard a new lease of life.

Japan traditionally has been the biggest supplier of inexpensive yet relatively modern ro-ro and ferry tonnage to Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean due to government policies promoting domestic shipbuilding and a young national fleet.

Japanese ferry operators are encouraged through various financial incentives to sell middle-aged tonnage to foreign buyers and replace them with newbuilds. At the same time, the Japanese government and trading houses offer extremely attractive financial packages to foreign buyers to aid deals.

However, Japanese ro-ro and ferry operators have been holding on to their tonnage for longer because of the country’s stagnant economy, creating a shortage in secondhand vessel supply.