PIONEERS OF INTER-ISLAND TRANSPORT
SEA TRAFFIC BETWEEN MALTA AND GOZO(This article first appeared in "The Times of Malta" Aug.7, 1997)
ByChev. JOHN G. DACOUTROS
In July 1997, one of the greatest men who operated the Malta-Gozo ferry service died in Malta. His name was Karistu Zammit. He had been involved in this service more than anyone else, both in his name and also later as a major shareholder of Gozo Channel ferries. However there were many other who operated this service successfully during recent history.It is a great pity that the Registry of Ships at the Malta Maritime Authority only has records of Gozo ships from 1973 onwards. One has to depend on historians and friends to research and study the Malta-Gozo maritime service history.
According to records which I have, between 1923 and 1937 the Malta Steamship Company operated two vessels, the Wembley which sank in 1935 and Golly which sank in 1937.
These were followed by the Gozo Mail Service Company which was a partnership between Joseph Gasan, Giovanni Dacoutros, the Grech family known as "Gelluxa" and some ten other Gozitans with minority shareholding.
This company operated the Royal Lady between October 1937 and May 1942 and a sailing vessel, Franco between may 1942 and April 1948. Both vessels were bombed by the Germans during the war. The Royal Lady was sunk in 1942 and Franco received damage in its funnel but luckily kept running till 1948.
Joseph Gasan also operated the Bancinu between 1950 and 1957 when it eventually ran aground and sank. During the same period Mr Gasan operated the Maid of Pinto, a wooden schooner which sank in 1951, and Pino which finished its service in 1957, the same year as the Bancinu.
Bernard Zammit operated two vessels, the King of England and Lady Strickland, which were both withdrawn from service in 1951.
The Magro family operated Hanini between 1948 and 1956. They also operated for sixteen years the Queen of Peace between 1955 and 1970.
The Magro and Zammit families operated Imperial Eagle which was recently laid up.
The Zammit family operated the Jylland until 1968. This vessel still exits. Karistu Zammit also operated Melitaland and Calypsoland up to 1974 and he also had the Minor Eagle which used to operate the Gozo service up to 1966. This was renamed Cominotto, and she is still doing tourist cruises today.
In 1945 the British colonial government requisitioned the three masted schooner Anna from Giovanni Dacoutros in order to carry much wanted cereals and other commodities between the two islands.
Unfortunately, this beautiful vessel was bombed when about to sail out of Grand Harbour and sank loaded with the precious grain at Marsa. Anna remained in the depths of Grand Harbour till after the war and the British colonial government imposed a fine of 15 Maltese pounds per day in order that the owner would remove the vessel from the bottom of the harbour.
For this purpose a special crane was brought from Gibraltar as no large lifting equipment was available.
It was eventually lifted out of the water about a year later and sold for firewood.
it is interesting also to note that, following the end of the war, one of the surviving vessels - the Maria Dacoutros - made a few trips to Gozo to carry grain and other commodities, It also carries mail and passengers.
The Maria Dacoutros was also the very first vessel to leave Malta for Sicily following the Italian surrender. It performed this service until other ways of delivering mail were found by the British services in Malta.
The Queen of Peace was sold by the Magro family in the seventies and was used to carry cargo to North Africa until it was lost in North African waters with the loss of some Maltese.
Gozo Channel came into the scene with the purchase of Mgarr (ex-Salthorn) which eventually was sold. Cittadella I which has recently been scrapped, and with their vessel Xlendi which can still be seen around Pieta'.
Today there are four ferries: the Mgarr (ex-Marsdiep), Cittadella II (ex-Telstrom), the Calypso and the Ghawdex. At one time the Ghawdex used to run the Malta-Sicily service as well.
It is worth noting that Maltese and Gozitan entrepreneurs always operated the ferry service between Malta and Gozo until Gozo Channel Company Limited took over.
Private entrepreneurs are now prohibited from running the ferry serviec. Maybe if competition existed, tourists and Maltese would get a better, possibly cheaper service.
One now looks forward to the arrival of new vessels for Gozo Channel made by Malta Shipbuilding Company.
P.S. The first new vessel of Gozo Channel will start marine tests in Autumn 1999. It will be named Madonna ta' Pinu
E-mail to: John G Dacoutros
GOZO CHANNEL plans to scuttle XLENDI
to serve as diving attraction.
ByGEORGE CINI
Gozo Channel is planning to scuttle its mv Xlendi to serve as an artificial reef, company chairman John Sullivan told The Times yesterday.Gozo Channel has opted to sink the vessel because offers made by several bidders to buy it were considered far too low, he said.
The vessel is berthed at Sa Maison in Pieta' and has been out of service since July 1997.
It had been laid up as a cost-cutting measure because during the previous fianancial year the company had registered losses amounting to Lm337,000.
During the company's annual general meeting in 1997, it was announced that mv Xlendi was due for special surveys and repairs costing up to Lm200,000.
The ship was put up for sale, but although a number of Greek and Turkish firms had shown considerable interest in it, none of the details came through.
Sammy Rapa, chairman of the Gozo Tourism Association, said that about three months ago, the BTA applied to the Planning Authority for permission to sink the ship off Mgarr ix-Xini.
Set up at the beginning of the year under the auspices of the Ministry for Gozo, the GTA is made up of providers of tourism services.
Mgarr ix-Xini was suggested by companies providing diving services in Gozo because it is sheltered from the northwesterly wind, the Majjistral, the most prevailing wind, said Mr Rapa.
"We very much welcome the initiative by Gozo Channel because competitors around the Mediterranean are doing their utmost to attract divers to their shores.
"Diving tourism, an ever-growing niche market, should be cultivated and sustained. It is a pity that the chance to scuttle the mv Cittadella about three years ago was missed due to bureaucratic hiccups.
"The Cittadella was bought and scuttled by a firm in Turkey. This time round we are making sure that this opportunity will not be lost," said Mr Rapa.
Built in 1955 and bought by Gozo Channel in February 1990 for Lm327,000, the Xlendi was meant to serve as a cargo carrier between Malta and Gozo, augmenting the service provided by mv Ghawdex.
But the ship ended up ferrying passengers and cars . It could take up to 65 vehicles. Its shape, however, earned it the ignoble title of the coffin.
The Xlendi has had its fair share of mishaps. A couple of weeks ago, a small fire broke out on deck.
It had sustained considerable damage in 1992 when it ran aground at Comino while crossing from Cirkewwa and Mgarr. None of the 80 passengers was injured and only one of 42 cars was slightly damaged.
Three years later it hit the quay at Mgarr, sustaining minor damage.
The 1,123 ton Xlendi used by its former owners to ferry a train, is 80 metres long.
(Source: The Times, July 6, 1999)
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