Long queues of vehicles have been reported waiting to cross to Gozo this evening, the eve of a Public Holiday, with currently only two Gozo Channel ferries working – The Ta’ Pinu and the Gaudos.

Gozo Channel in a statement on social media, said that the the MV Nikolaos was off schedule as the workers had already covered a 12 hour shift according to Wednesday’s schedule, stating that, “local and European maritime regulations prohibit shifts longer than 12 hours.”

Gozo Channel went on to say that in addition the MV Malita is still in the dockyards undergoing maintenance. “Despite the collective efforts of our workforce to be able to return to service today, however the MV Malita is expected to return to service tomorrow morning.”

People waiting to board the ferries were venting their anger on social media, with one saying that only two ferries are working, and one of those has been taking on fuel for the past 30 minutes – “a disaster.”

Another has said that their are no police on the road, cars going down one-way towards the ship, buses stuck and people are having to walk to the ferry carrying their luggage – “total chaos”

One wrote that they had been waiting two and a half hour to board the ferry after a day at work, calling it an unacceptable situation for workers, and those who study in Malta – “a total disaster.”

Gozo Channel has apologised for any inconvenience “but we felt the need to make it clear to the general public that it is not always possible to meet the aspirations of our customers and the company.”

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