Gozo cruise business held up by Lm70,000 buoy
Port agents Mifsud Brothers Ltd are lobbying for a permanent mooring buoy to be laid down at the entrance to Xlendi Bay so that cruise ships can visit Gozo.MBL managing director Ivan Mifsud is following in his predecessors' footsteps by trying to...
Port agents Mifsud Brothers Ltd are lobbying for a permanent mooring buoy to be laid down at the entrance to Xlendi Bay so that cruise ships can visit Gozo.
MBL managing director Ivan Mifsud is following in his predecessors' footsteps by trying to create new cruise ports along the southern rim of the Mediterranean that would encourage ships to forego their usual northern routes. Over the years, MBL has organised groundbreaking visits to ports in Algeria and even Libya.
But he is very frustrated by efforts to do the same in Gozo - which, he said, would boost calls to Valletta, rather than replace them.
Three years ago, with help from the authorities, he compiled a feasibility study which identified eight potential sites for cruise liners outside Valletta - four of which are in Gozo. He followed that up by taking Peter Cox, the director for itinerary planning and development of the very upmarket Seabourn cruises, on a one-hour flight over the islands.
"Because of the way in which itineraries are organised, ships would be able to call at Valletta, stay overnight and then go to Gozo early the next morning. Or the ship could drop passengers off in Gozo and pick them up in Valletta. The ship would get two ports of call without wasting time at sea, while Valletta gets overnight visitors.
"In this way, Gozo would get a few hundred passengers spending considerable amounts of money without straining the hotel and self-catering infrastructure.
"And the passengers will get a truly memorable experience," he said, showing copies of letters and e-mails received from Mr Cox. These rave about the welcome the Seabourn Pride was given on its maiden voyage to Gozo in April last year, when it anchored off Xlendi.
"Tour participants were quite vocal in their praise. Our guests were equally impressed by the warm welcome and exemplary hospitality extended to them by the gracious people of Gozo.
"... Our guests loved Xlendi. Although small in size, they thought it cute and endowed with a very special atmosphere. Some guests even mentioned that the harbour made them think of Portofino, only less touristy and more natural, with a genuine charm," Mr Cox wrote a year ago.
The only problem is anchoring the ships off Xlendi is that the sea is some 60m deep. Although the maiden visit of the Seabourn Pride was such a magical experience for the passengers, the captain had to motor the vessel up and down for the whole time they were on shore, which is far from satisfactory.
Seabourn said that for future visits, they would need a bollard on shore as well as a mooring buoy towards the centre of the bay.
The bollard was put in place on the point known as It-Tkieken just two days before another Seabourn vessel was due to visit last September but the captain was uncomfortable about using a freshly laid bollard which had not been pressure-tested.
Furthermore, the mooring buoy had not been laid down so the ship would still have had only one end secured. The visit was thus cancelled at the last minute, fortunately without too many serious repercussions.
MBL had passed the issue of the mooring buoy on to the Maritime Authority, which estimates that it will cost Lm70,000 and is not "economically feasible".
But Mr Mifsud refuses to give up.
"I think Gozo can be another Santorini - which handles 400 ships a year, offering just buoys and bollards. Imagine the impact that this can have on Gozo," he said.
"People like Mr Cox have seen everything and you cannot imagine how hard it is to impress them. And yet he was blown away by Xlendi. You cannot imagine the enthusiasm in Gozo when the ship called last year. The Munxar mayor had the place thoroughly cleaned up, the trees pruned, benches painted just before the visit. And he kept a watchful eye throughout the day.
The taxis gave us really good, set rates. The passengers all got Gozitan olive oil as a gift and bought numerous souvenirs. This is really good for Gozo."
In the meantime, MBL has persuaded other vessels to visit Gozo. In October 2006, the SeaDream visited and its passengers were taken ashore through the tunnel to the Inland Sea at Dwejra by local luzzu. A few weeks ago the Spirit of Adventure visited. It also had to "drift" around just outside the mouth of Xlendi. A Clipper vessel may visit in September, and The World may visit in November. Other bays have also been used by different vessels.
But Seabourn Spirit cancelled a planned visit to Xlendi last Tuesday along with five other potential calls over the summer, which would quite likely have been scheduled had the buoy been in place.
"The government is, however, going ahead with plans for the building of "dolphins" outside Mgarr harbour against which cruise liners can berth but the harbour is already congested.
"The amount of money is not that much. Whether it is government money, private money or EU funds, surely we can rustle up Lm70,000?" Mr Mifsud said.
Joe Muscat, president of the Gozo Tourism Association agreed that more action was needed to get Gozo cruise business going.
"The Gozo Tourism Association believes that Gozo has all the requisites to lure this niche market towards our island's shores. It is also government policy that Gozo should be put on the cruise liner maps. However we need to take the necessary actions to implement the infrastructure improvements that are keeping the cruise liners away from Gozo. The lack of space at Mgarr harbour and the lack of mooring facilities around the island of Gozo are the two main constraints for cruise liners business. Gozo deserves to get its share from this ever increasing tourism sector to Malta," he said.
MBL managing director Ivan Mifsud is following in his predecessors' footsteps by trying to create new cruise ports along the southern rim of the Mediterranean that would encourage ships to forego their usual northern routes. Over the years, MBL has organised groundbreaking visits to ports in Algeria and even Libya.
But he is very frustrated by efforts to do the same in Gozo - which, he said, would boost calls to Valletta, rather than replace them.
Three years ago, with help from the authorities, he compiled a feasibility study which identified eight potential sites for cruise liners outside Valletta - four of which are in Gozo. He followed that up by taking Peter Cox, the director for itinerary planning and development of the very upmarket Seabourn cruises, on a one-hour flight over the islands.
"Because of the way in which itineraries are organised, ships would be able to call at Valletta, stay overnight and then go to Gozo early the next morning. Or the ship could drop passengers off in Gozo and pick them up in Valletta. The ship would get two ports of call without wasting time at sea, while Valletta gets overnight visitors.
"In this way, Gozo would get a few hundred passengers spending considerable amounts of money without straining the hotel and self-catering infrastructure.
"And the passengers will get a truly memorable experience," he said, showing copies of letters and e-mails received from Mr Cox. These rave about the welcome the Seabourn Pride was given on its maiden voyage to Gozo in April last year, when it anchored off Xlendi.
"Tour participants were quite vocal in their praise. Our guests were equally impressed by the warm welcome and exemplary hospitality extended to them by the gracious people of Gozo.
"... Our guests loved Xlendi. Although small in size, they thought it cute and endowed with a very special atmosphere. Some guests even mentioned that the harbour made them think of Portofino, only less touristy and more natural, with a genuine charm," Mr Cox wrote a year ago.
The only problem is anchoring the ships off Xlendi is that the sea is some 60m deep. Although the maiden visit of the Seabourn Pride was such a magical experience for the passengers, the captain had to motor the vessel up and down for the whole time they were on shore, which is far from satisfactory.
Seabourn said that for future visits, they would need a bollard on shore as well as a mooring buoy towards the centre of the bay.
The bollard was put in place on the point known as It-Tkieken just two days before another Seabourn vessel was due to visit last September but the captain was uncomfortable about using a freshly laid bollard which had not been pressure-tested.
Furthermore, the mooring buoy had not been laid down so the ship would still have had only one end secured. The visit was thus cancelled at the last minute, fortunately without too many serious repercussions.
MBL had passed the issue of the mooring buoy on to the Maritime Authority, which estimates that it will cost Lm70,000 and is not "economically feasible".
But Mr Mifsud refuses to give up.
"I think Gozo can be another Santorini - which handles 400 ships a year, offering just buoys and bollards. Imagine the impact that this can have on Gozo," he said.
"People like Mr Cox have seen everything and you cannot imagine how hard it is to impress them. And yet he was blown away by Xlendi. You cannot imagine the enthusiasm in Gozo when the ship called last year. The Munxar mayor had the place thoroughly cleaned up, the trees pruned, benches painted just before the visit. And he kept a watchful eye throughout the day.
The taxis gave us really good, set rates. The passengers all got Gozitan olive oil as a gift and bought numerous souvenirs. This is really good for Gozo."
In the meantime, MBL has persuaded other vessels to visit Gozo. In October 2006, the SeaDream visited and its passengers were taken ashore through the tunnel to the Inland Sea at Dwejra by local luzzu. A few weeks ago the Spirit of Adventure visited. It also had to "drift" around just outside the mouth of Xlendi. A Clipper vessel may visit in September, and The World may visit in November. Other bays have also been used by different vessels.
But Seabourn Spirit cancelled a planned visit to Xlendi last Tuesday along with five other potential calls over the summer, which would quite likely have been scheduled had the buoy been in place.
"The government is, however, going ahead with plans for the building of "dolphins" outside Mgarr harbour against which cruise liners can berth but the harbour is already congested.
"The amount of money is not that much. Whether it is government money, private money or EU funds, surely we can rustle up Lm70,000?" Mr Mifsud said.
Joe Muscat, president of the Gozo Tourism Association agreed that more action was needed to get Gozo cruise business going.
"The Gozo Tourism Association believes that Gozo has all the requisites to lure this niche market towards our island's shores. It is also government policy that Gozo should be put on the cruise liner maps. However we need to take the necessary actions to implement the infrastructure improvements that are keeping the cruise liners away from Gozo. The lack of space at Mgarr harbour and the lack of mooring facilities around the island of Gozo are the two main constraints for cruise liners business. Gozo deserves to get its share from this ever increasing tourism sector to Malta," he said.