Cars on board a Gozo Channel ferry got stuck on Friday as the vessel’s front loading ramp malfunctioned. 

Commuters told Times of Malta that they had spent some 45 minutes stuck on board the MV Malita in Gozo’s Mġarr harbour.  

“We got stuck inside the boat for ages because the ramp wouldn’t work and so we had to turn the whole boat around and come out of the back,” one commuter said.  

The ramp of the vessel fell into the water in the Mġarr harbour back in 2018, briefly stranding hundreds of people on board.

The MV Malita's front ramp fell into the sea in 2018.

The vessel underwent a general service in February of this year, however, this did not stop malfunctions from occurring a few other times since then, most recently last month.   

“Some drivers got fed up waiting in the heat, so they left their cars and went for some fresh air, which of course meant the whole process of getting cars out took even longer,” the commuter said.  

Those stuck on board said on Friday that they had to reverse their vehicles in the ferry’s cramped cargo bay. 

Gozo Channel executive chairman Joe Cordina said that the malfunction was not out of the ordinary. 

“This sort of thing is to be expected from time to time on boats of a certain age. Crews are trained to either fix the problem on site, or to use the alternative exit,” he said.