Venezia Lines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Virtu Ferries that operates a high speed passenger service between Venice/Rimini and Adriatic ports in Slovenia and Croatia, has announced the introduction of a car/passenger service between the Italian port of Bari and Albania’s major port, Duress.

The 437 passengers and 21 cars M/V San Gwann, registered under the Malta Flag, classed by Det Norske Veritas and owned and managed by Virtu Ferries, commenced operations on 16 December.

The San Gwann was deployed on the company’s established Malta-Sicily route until May 2006, when she was substituted by the M/V Maria Dolores, 600 passengers/ 65 cars/ TIR, and was for a short period operating between Italian and Croatian Adriatic ports.

The San Gwann was in the international headlines during the Israeli offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah this year, as one of the

vessels chartered by the Australian government to rescue Australian and other nationals from the war zone in Lebanon. The San Gwann carried out a number of trips between Beirut and Larnaca, Cyprus, carrying war zone refugees.

A spokesman for Virtu Ferries commented on the versatility of high speed craft, noting that the company and, as a consequence, the Malta maritime industry, was at the forefront of this development.