Gozo ferry ship master raises issue of conflict of interest

Members of a board of inquiry into claims about serious security flaws on Gozo ferries had a conflict of interest and should not have accepted to investigate the case, ship master Mario Grech said in a judicial protest.

Capt. Grech said in his judicial protest that the five board members appointed by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech to look into the allegations he had made included occupiers of high-ranking positions in the same ministry.

"I question the inquiry report and his (Mr Fenech's) comments after he hid, and misinterpreted, the little truth that emerged," he said in the protest filed against the minister.

Capt. Grech was suspended on full pay - the authorities prefer to say he was removed from the roster and object to the term suspended - after he filed a judicial protest in September claiming, among other things, lack of life-saving equipment and safety drills and the presence of the Legionella bacteria in the ferries' water supply.

Mr Fenech appointed a board to investigate the allegations and asked Gozo Channel to pay the ship master even though he was not on the roster, pending the outcome of the inquiry.

The inquiry report, tabled in Parliament on Monday, dismissed all but one of Capt. Grech's claims and made recommendations to address shortcomings which, however, were "not serious".

In his latest judicial protest, Capt. Grech argued that the board was not appointed correctly because it was meant to have five members not four members as it was originally set up.

Capt. Grech said the fifth member, Ghassan Abdullah, was only appointed after his objections but he questioned this member's objectivity given that, a few months earlier, he had been refused a promotion to the rank of captain after sitting for an interview chaired by Capt. Grech.

Capt. Grech stood by his original claims of safety breaches, saying these were "justified" and confirmed by maritime experts. Although Mr Fenech publicly defended the ferry company, he changed his tune in a private meeting held recently with high ranking officials, Capt. Grech claimed.

He also accused the minister of hiding the "little" truth that emerged from the inquiry, which also exposed the faults of high-ranking officials.

The inquiry accepted only one of the points raised by the captain, that a boatswain had used a forged certificate to get a promotion. However, it was only after the boatswain was given a suspended sentence that the ferry company conceded the allegation was well-founded, Capt. Grech said in his protest.

The claim, in fact, led to the conviction of the officer in question and proceedings are under way against the company's former HR manager.

Capt. Grech accused Gozo Channel of protecting a number of employees by not taking any disciplinary action. "I'm certain I would not have been justified on this point (relating to the boatswain's forged certificate) without the court's judgement."

The board also ignored a cardinal safety maritime rule to "err on the side of safety" if ever in doubt, he said.

Capt. Grech said he refused to obey his superior's orders to lie about the possibility of Legionella in the ferry's tanks by saying the water supply was not working.

He insisted he would continue defending his case and said he would hold Mr Fenech and Gozo Channel responsible for any damages.

Lawyer Kevin Mompalao signed the writ.