Two Gozo Channel officials have been acquitted of sending an unseaworthy vessel to sea after a court ruled that the fact that a certificate for safety equipment had expired a few days before did not render the ship unsafe.

The case dates back to April 2012 and concerns the MV Gaudos, one of the three ferries operated by the company.

For reasons of safety, the ship was equipped with two marine escape systems, which are utilised in lieu of lifeboats. These systems' safety certificates are renewed every year, after servicing, and the certificate of one of the systems was renewed on 30 April.

But before the certificate was renewed, ship master Captain Mario Grech refused to board passengers to full capacity after finding that this had expired on 28 April. He thus decided to allow the boarding of 500 passengers, rather than the usual 900.

This decision earned Cpt Grech a suspension from Gozo Channel. He had just been reinstated as ship master after having been suspended on full pay on September 2009, when he blew the whistle on a case of Legionella in one of the vessels and a number of other safety issues.

Cpt Grech asked the police to investigate the matter, leading to the arraignment of operations manager George Borg and senior engineering and maintenance manager Sammy Grech, who was the designated person ashore.

The Gozo Court had found that the certificate had expired on 28 April. 28 and 29 April had fallen on a weekend, and the only company which could have renewed the certificate did not operate on those days.

Life-raft service manager Joseph Cioffi testified that the inspection and certificate renewal was originally set to take place on 26 April, but took place four days later due to other commitments. He confirmed that the marine escape system was found to be in good condition when it was certified.

Perhaps crucial to the defence's case was the testimony of Cpt Mark Chappelle, a Transport Malta official, who ruled out any danger to passengers. He also pointed out Gozo Channel could have simply notified Transport Malta and obtained a five-month extension on the certificate, without the need of inspection, although the company failed to do so.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri ultimately ruled that while the certificate had technically expired, there was no risk to passengers on the days in question.

While he did recommend that on future occasions, the company should set an appointment to renew certificates at least a week in advance to avoid similar incidents, he ruled that there was no evidence that an unseaworthy vessel was sent to sea, and acquitted the two men.

Inspector Frank Tabone prosecuted.