Gozo fast ferry service under ‘intense pressure’ - Chamber CEO

The Gozo fast ferry service is facing intense pressure due to high demand during peak hours, according to the CEO of the Gozo Business Chamber.

Daniel Borg said that while the fast ferry was proving to be a success as an alternative means of transport, especially since a consistent schedule for both summer and winter was introduced, there is room for more trips during peak times.

“From a Gozitan perspective, there seems to be intense pressure on the service. People here use it for business, medical appointments, work and studies,” Borg said.

One of the main issues, Borg said, is the two-hour gap between the 7.45am and 9.45am ferries leaving Gozo, during which there is currently no service.

“Moreover, from late morning till late afternoon one can observe that many day-tripping tourists are using the service.”

Borg referred to figures compiled by the National Statistics Office, which show that, during the first quarter of the year, there was a 33.3 per cent increase in the number of ferry trips compared to 2024 but also a 37.5 per cent increase in the number of passengers.

He added that there was scope for more night trips in summer to support the island’s cultural calendar.

“This will allow more participation of Maltese people in cultural events in Gozo.”

Maltese residents who spoke to Times of Malta said they often encountered delays when trying to use the ferry. 

“If you use it in the mid-morning there are absolutely massive queues and weekends tend to be crazy,” said one regular user who lives in Gozo.

He added that while one can book online and skip the queue of people waiting to buy a ticket, the queue of people who had pre-purchased a ticket waiting to get on the ferry was often long.

Another commuter said she had recently been left stranded since the ferry was full.

“It feels like the service has become primarily for tourists and not for regular people. Even in March it was packed with tourists, let alone during peak season.” She added that facilities in both Malta and Gozo were not equipped to handle the current volume of passengers, a point that was also raised by Borg.

Henri Saliba, director of Virtu Ferries Ltd, which in 2023 merged with Gozo Fast Ferry to form Gozo Highspeed, said he was unaware of any issues currently facing the service.

“Please note that slight delays are always possible for various reasons: sea conditions, traffic in the channel, traffic when approaching ports and berthing to mention a few,” Saliba said. “Although the service is a success, the average occupancy levels show that, for the time being, the schedule satisfies the demand.”

He referred to internal figures that show what time the ferries left port on two separate days at the start of June. According to the figures, most trips from both Malta and Gozo left on time or a few minutes late. The longest delay was 10 minutes. 

In May, the Gozo Chamber flagged the “grave situation” at the Mġarr and Ċirkewwa ferry terminals, which, it said, had reached their capacity limit.