Virtù charter two ferries to Venezia Lines

Two Maltese-flagged ferries belonging to Virtù Ferries have been chartered to Venezia Lines for five months, to operate between Venice and Trieste and ports in Slovenia and Croatia.

Venezia Lines is a joint venture between ACTV (40 per cent), a company owned by the Comune di Venezia, and Adriatic Sealink Investments (60 per cent), a Maltese company owned jointly by Hili Investments Ltd and Virtù Ferries.

The ferries, the San Frangisk and the San Pawl, reach speeds of over 33 knots, meaning that the trips on the new routes will take between 1.25 hours and 2.5 hours.

"This means that the trips become a good option for both people in Venice and other parts of Italy, and from foreign markets," Virtù director Henri Saliba told The Times.

The San Frangisk used to operate on the company's Malta-Pozzallo route, but Mr Saliba explained that this was being adequately served by the San Gwann, which has a capacity of 427 passengers and 25 cars. The company also owns another vessel which is currently chartered in Egypt.

Mr Saliba said that Venezia Lines was optimistic about the possibility of using Venice airport as a hub, bringing in tourists from European markets using the low cost airlines currently serving that airport, and then taking them on to Slovenia and Croatia by ferry.

"Contacts are being made with the various operators to promote this," he said.

Venezia Lines is also evaluating other routes between Italian ports, as once Malta joins the EU in May 2004, Maltese vessels will be able to operate on domestic routes in the member states.