The Gozo Channel Co. expressed “dismay” at remarks made by the GRTU, Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, which criticised the company’s cargo service from Sa Maison, after the cancellation of trips due to inclement weather.

The company said the situation arose at a time when the company had one of its vessels, the mv Malita, undergoing a refit at Malta Shipyards, leaving all ferry services to be provided by only two vessels.

“This puts a strain on the operations of the company ,which has currently allocated Monday and Wednesday evenings for the Sa Maison cargo service. The service last Wednesday had to be cancelled due to bad weather.”

The company said this appeared to provoke GRTU director general Vince Farrugia’s complaint, and the company had planned to re-arrange its schedule on Thursday and provide an unscheduled trip to Sa Maison, so as to make up for the cancelled trip on Wednesday.

Attempts had been made to inform Mr Farrugia of the decision well ahead of his press conference, but, it added, “for reasons known to him, Mr Farrugia was unavailable”.

The company says Mr Farrugia had not been accurately informed on a number of matters.

Gozitan industry did not depend on the haulage of cargo on the Sa Maison service, the company said. The service catered for only 15 per cent of cargo traffic between the two islands. The rest of the traffic, 85 per cent of the Gozo cargo, is transported by the company on the Mgarr/ Cirkewwa service.