Water taxi service planned to link Valletta with Cottonera

The Malta Tourism Authority is supporting a water taxi service between Valletta and Cottonera to improve access to the Three Cities and help keep the dghajsa tradition alive.

The service should be up and running by summer, said Kevin Fsadni from the MTA's Product Planning and Development Directorate, which is also going to embark on a marketing campaign to promote the initiative.

The plan involves the improvement of landing points and paving of these areas and the MTA has already submitted plans to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for shelters at the points.

The MTA would also be assisting in the organisation of the service and ticketing, and may produce information leaflets, with history of the development of the dghajsa tal-pass, to be distributed on board.

A price for the trips has not yet been established, but it is not expected to cost more than Lm1 per person.

The dghajsa trip project was also in keeping with the MTA's policy of improving the product, with an emphasis on Cottonera. The aim was to increase the number of visitors to Cottonera, which, for some reason, was not as visited as Mdina and Valletta.

The boat trips would leave from the fish market, Customs House and, possibly, the Viset cruise liner terminal, to Cottonera - Senglea and Vittoriosa.

The traditional dghajjes can cut across the harbour in five minutes, avoiding a 45-minute bus ride, Mr Fsadni said. The Viset project lift and cable car would also be helpful as tourists currently find it hard to reach the wharf from the capital.

Apart from trying to raise awareness of and promoting the craft and tradition, which cannot afford to be lost, the dghajsa trips offer a unique perspective of the harbour's stunning surroundings, including the imposing bastions, churches, Villa Bighi, Fort St Angelo and other historical sites.

"The Grand Harbour cannot be experienced from a better place than from the middle of it - a spectacular viewpoint, which could be a great photo opportunity," said Mr Fsadni of the 360-degree panorama of the entire port.

The idea was to start off as a water taxi service and, maybe, move on to a scheduled service.

Tours around the harbour on the dghajjes tal-pass were already being offered by the Kooperativa tal-Barklori, which was established seven years ago to ensure that the tradition would not die. It operated "like a family" and was made up of 10 boats.

Walter Ahar, 64, from Senglea is one of the founding members of the cooperative. His dghajsa tal-pass is practically antique in that it is 135 years old.

"Once upon a time, there were 2,000, but the number has dwindled to, at most, 100," he said, adding that he was prepared to offer his services on a voluntary basis to teach the younger generations how to operate the boats.

The dghajjes tal-pass, which are built from a variety of woods, cost between Lm200 and Lm400 to maintain every year, and each rib, which is made of ash, costs Lm14, Mr Ahar said.

The boats, which are allowed to take six passengers, are equipped with life jackets and other security measures, he said.

Mr Ahar recalls the busy Grand Harbour when the dghajjes had an important role to play, catering for the navy vessels in the port. They would ferry sailors on the battleships to and fro across the harbour, he said.

"They used to take us on board, with our boats and all, to ferry them around overseas too," he said, remembering the Grand Harbour when it was a hive of activity until the early 1970s.

The dghajjes were like mobile kiosks, he recalled, revealing that they would sell wine in soft drink bottles, so no one would know!

The harbour tours, which run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but also at sunset, according to requests, can be booked by calling Mr Ahar on 7962 0034, or 666173.