The court has rejected an application by Virtu Ferries to stop Gozo channel from steaming ahead with its plans to launch a fast ferry service with its selected partner – Islands Ferry Network Ltd.

The court said that there was no need for such a remedy seeing that the tender process was currently suspended anyway.

Virtu Ferries has argued that the selected company had “failed miserably” in satisfying both the technical as well as economical criteria outlined in the request for proposals.

An evaluation board had originally selected Virtu Ferries but the first RFP was later cancelled. Gozo Channel then selected Islands Ferry Network Ltd – a joint venture between Magro Brothers Investments Ltd and Fortina Investments Ltd - which was set up merely three days before the selection result was announced.

Virtu Ferries argued that it has the necessary experience, adding that it had spent hundreds of thousands in resources while discussing the introduction of the service with Gozo Channel.

In a decree handed down in the First Hall of the Civil Court this week, Mr Justice Anthony Ellul said the first request by Virtu Ferries for the court to order Gozo Channel to refrain from entering into any contract with the preferred partner was rather late.

The court said it had been presented with a fait accompli since Gozo Channel had already signed a contract with Islands Ferry Network.

The second request was for the court to order Gozo Channel to refrain from exercising its contract with IFN, pending a decision on the merits of the case.

Here the court noted that, once the Public Service Obligation tender was currently suspended, there was effectively no actual need for the prohibitory injunction as requested.

The court observed that, when signing the charter party agreement, Gozo Channel had already decided who would operate the fast ferry service should it win the tender. In fact, it had bound itself contractually with IFN.

Noting that this was a service procured under Public Procurement regulations, the court questioned how Gozo Channel could have selected as partner a company that was born three days earlier and which was also owned by shareholders who were not involved in the fast ferry market.

Despite Gozo Channel’s insistence that it wanted an experienced partner, an evaluation committee member confirmed that IFN had never referred to experience.

The court also asked how a company registered in April 2018 could have filed a bid when the deadline for the preliminary market consultation was 23 February 2018.

The court noted that the choice of partner did not depend solely on experience, but also on financial factors, but said that such considerations were beyond the scope of the injunction proceedings. 

It also noted that nothing was stopping Virtu Ferries from bidding for the tender and appealing should the tender be awarded to Gozo Channel.