<i>Ghawdex</i> ferry sold for scrap

The former Gozo Channel ferry, the mv Ghawdex, was yesterday towed out of the Cassar Shiprepair Ltd's 'yard in Marsa to meet its final resting place - a Turkish scrapyard.

The Ghawdex, which was sold by Gozo Channel to Mira Towage for $180,000 two years ago, had been renamed Virgem de Fatima.

Mira Towage director Simon Zammit said the vessel was then resold to Portuguese owners who had intended to use it as a cargo ship.

Unfortunately, this company could not take the vessel due to contractual problems and this week it finally decided to sell the Virgem de Fatima to a Turkish scrapyard, Mr Zammit said.

The ship, which was last night towed out by a Turkish tug boat is expected to reach Turkey in about a week.

The vessel has changed hands many times in the past and until a few days ago its future was still uncertain.

The former Gozo Channel vessel had been operating since 1979 and the company had decided to sell it after it launched its new vessel, the Ta' Pinu, in March, 2000.

In April last year, Economic Services Minister Josef Bonnici had said in reply to a parliamentary question that when it was sold, the vessel had carried 42,700 litres of fuel oil, costing Lm6,033, which the buyer had paid for.

A month later it was also reported that the company had incurred a loss of Lm74,000 on the disposal of the Ghawdex, mostly arising from a revaluation of Lm91,000 made by the company in 1997.