Sicilian judge turns down Virtu Ferries request to suspend Ponte Ferries services in Augusta

Virtu request not to allow Ponte Ferries to use Augusta terminal turnded down

An Italian judge has rejected a request by Virtu Ferries to not allow Ponte Ferries to use the Sicilian port of Augusta for its services.

The Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale di Catania ruled in favour of Ponte Ferries, turning down the request by Virtu Ferries to stop the service.

In August 2021, the Ponte ferry service connecting Valletta to Augusta, near Catania, was stopped at the eleventh hour over a bid by Virtù, which connects Pozzallo to Valletta, to also obtain a departure slot from the port.

It had to cancel the start of its planned schedule of operations last summer due to issues with berthing permits at Augusta.

The company only started operating the ferry service in mid-November after having been granted a temporary permit from the Italian authorities.

It ground to a halt again at the beginning of this year, with the company saying it was suspending the service due to mandatory drydocking of its catamaran for routine checks.

In its ruling earlier this week, the judge ejected the request of Virtu Ferries to suspend, preliminary to the annulment, the acts with which the Port System Authority of Augusta and Catania had accepted months ago on the concessionary requests of Ponte Ferries relating to the port of Augusta.

The judge also sanctioned the rejection of the competitor application for state concession advanced by Virtu Ferries. The judges considered "that the precautionary requirements represented in the appeal can be adequately met by setting the public hearing for the date of 14 September 2022 for the purposes of the substantive decision".