Virtu Ferries seeks licence to operate Malta-Gozo fast ferry service

Virtu Ferries, which operates a catamaran service between Malta and Sicily, has applied for a licence to operate a fast ferry service between Malta and Gozo.

The decision comes after Transport Minister Ian Borg announced last month that government will liberalise the fast ferry market between Valletta and Mġarr.

Government wants a fast ferry service to be operational by 1 June. Virtu said that given the short timeframe it will initially use one of its existing vessels to operate the Valletta-Mġarr service and review the possibility of commissioning a specific vessel for the route in the future.

“Virtu is looking forward to replicating the success achieved over the last 33 years on international routes, including between Malta and Sicily, on the domestic route between Maġrr and Valletta,” the company said.

The fast ferry was an electoral proposal but was the subject of controversy after the Public Contracts Review Board had decided in 2019 that a contract awarded by Gozo Channel, the state ferry company, to Island Ferries was null since the contract agreement had been concluded before a final decision was made.  

The appeal against the awarding of the contract had been filed by Virtu Ferries.

Virtu said that once the service is up and running, it will be reviewing the construction of a ferry specifically for the inter-island service. 

“The proposed new ferry will conform to highest environmental standards in place at time of build, respecting stringent Emission Regulations and guidelines issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO),” it said.

In his announcement, the Transport Minister had said that while the parameters will be wide, so that no one who might express interest in the service may be excluded, the trip between Malta and Gozo must not last longer than 45 minutes.  

The service will ferry passengers from Mġarr, Gozo to the Grand Harbour in Valletta, as from 1 June.