The Malta Maritime Authority has completed work on the Mgarr harbour terminal in Gozo and has formally handed it over to Gozo Channel.

The terminal is expected to become operational at the end of this month once modifications to the ferries are carried out in order to facilitate the ship-shore interface, the MMA said. That would enable passengers to embark and disembark separately from vehicles.

The authority said its capital projects and maintenance department  had also completed work on the first phase of the  Maritime Trade Centre at Grand Harbour. The first phase consisted of an office block to house the MMA directorates, which have been housed at Pinto Stores. 

The maritime centre consists of 14,000 square metres of office space, circulation and common areas for the authority and organisations involved in maritime activities. The building will consist  of three blocks and an underground park for 120 cars.   

The authority also reported that at the end of September 2007, the Maltese shipping register featured 4,578 ships with a gross tonnage of just under 27 million, confirming Malta as the second largest register in Europe. It said that in the year to September, 558 vessels were registered while 284 vessels were de-registered. A total of 42 ships were not accepted for registration for technical reasons.