Gozo Channel - a balancing act

It is undeniable that Gozo Channel has registered progress by leaps and bounds in its services over the past months. Enough to record that the number of trips has increased from about 18,000 a year (for the year ending September 1998) to over 20,000 a year (September 2002).

This progress came about, first and foremost, following the government's decision, instigated by the then minister for Gozo, Anton Tabone, to build three new ferries suitable for the stretch of sea and for the cross-currents prevailing in the six-kilometre-long Gozo-Malta channel.

That decision necessitated several others in its wake: the financing of the project, the drawing up of the designs, and, especially, the choice of a shipbuilding yard.

These matters were piloted with tact by the then chairman Paul Abela. It was found out that the building of these ferries abroad would have cost less, in fact much less, and that they would have been delivered earlier.

But the government, led by the Prime Minister Eddie Fenech-Adami, was not influenced by these two advantages. It was decided that it would be wiser to build the ships at Malta Shipbuilding, providing the hundreds employed there with some work of which they were, and still are, in dire need.

Between 1996 and 1998, the Labour government hesitated over whether or not to proceed with the building of the three ferries. Incidentally, the same Labour government, led by Alfred Sant, decided to do away with the Ministry of Gozo, the main catalyst in the project.

This was definitely one reason why the project nearly floundered. Eventually, not without the urging of Dr Anton Refalo, then Parliamentary Secretary for Gozo, common sense prevailed and it was decided to go on with the building of the ferries.

In 1998, after 22 months, the Nationalists were again voted in government. The Ministry for Gozo was reinstituted and the new minister for Gozo, Giovanna Debono, followed in her predecessor's steps.

The ferries Ta' Pinu, Gaudos, and Malita, were delivered, not without some hitches, one after another. The Gozo Channel also retained the former ferry Calypso and has now a fleet of four.

The new chairman, John E. Sullivan, went out of his way to hasten the process of replacement of the decades-old ferries that were developing one big operational problem after another.

As one of the 1,000 odd regular commuters, I could see for myself the improvement in the service one week after another. Coupled with the new berthing facilities at Cirkewwa, the service has gained on four counts.

The passage between the islands has become smoother, even in choppy seas. Secondly, something very important to all of us who use the service several times a week, it has become more punctual, though it can certainly be more so.

Mr Sullivan promises that the new terminals together with a new system of wireless communication between the four ferries employed by the company and its offices at Mgarr and Cirkewwa should further enhance punctuality.

Thirdly, the service has become more reliable, so much so that the number of trips cancelled in the recent months is negligible.

Fourthly, the waiting time for boarding with a car has been greatly reduced at both ends. Since last October, I have always boarded the ferry that I intended to.

Gozo Channel has in the process developed a big problem, it is not making ends meet. From the year ending September 1998 to the year ending September 2002, the cost of subsidised tickets has almost doubled, from Lm700,000 to Lm1.3 million.

This sum is the difference between the actual cost of the ticket and the subsidised fare. Entitled to this subsidised fare are, first of all, the Gozitans, most of whom make use of the ferry service due to our work in Malta.

This subsidised fare is also being paid by a steadily increasing number of people living in Malta but owning a property in Gozo, and who have changed their residence on their identity card from Malta to Gozo to benefit from this fare. It is also paid by local senior citizens; by children; by holders of family passes (some 2,000); and by handicapped persons, who travel completely free.

The cost of fuel, due to a rise in fuel costs and a greater consumption by the new ferries, has risen from Lm0.5 million a year (year ending September 1998) to Lm1.3 million (September 2002).

During the same two periods, the salaries of all company employees has almost doubled, from Lm1.14 million to Lm2 million per annum. The present government has been harshly criticised by the opposition for the sharp increase in crew since 1998.

This increase is visible to regular commuters like me. Queried whether this criticism is justified, Mr Sullivan explained that since the capacity of the ferries has increased, the crew had to be increased.

International and European standardisation require a crew member for every 60 passengers. Since each ferry has a capacity of 900, the crew had to be increased accordingly.

He emphasised that every crew member, including customer services personnel and cleaners, regularly perform drills on how to act in emergencies.

In the course of six months, every crew member receives all the drill required by the standardisation authorities. The end result is that the crew increase has made the service safer and more secure.

However, the presence of the crew during the crossing should be perceivable, at least to cut on law-breaking (smoking) and vandalism (on chairs and curtains).

Another money loser is the number of free passes that a host of government officials and all company personnel and their wives enjoy.

Is it right that the company bears such costs? Would it not be better, argues the company, that such officials pay for the crossing and then get reimbursed by their respective departments?

The company is also assailed by abuses. Abuses seep every sector of Maltese (and foreign) society and the Gozo Channel is no exception.

The recent introduction of an automated ticketing system and a further electronic control of tickets purchased, both for passengers as well as for those boarding with cars, is a step in the right direction.

The company is also aware of the issue of a considerable number of Gozo identity cards to people who are not entitled to them but the company has no control over the matter.

It is certainly no easy task for the company to meet its social duties towards Gozo and to make profit. In the period under consideration, September 1998 to September 2002, there was hardly any rise in the costs of tickets notwithstanding the rise in costs in all sectors listed above. This is one problem that the new government will have to tackle, whether we become members of the European Union or remain outsiders. Gozo Channel has indeed a difficult balancing act to perform.