A board of inquiry appointed by the Finance Ministry has dismissed as untrue damning claims of safety flaws aboard Gozo Channel ferries made by a ship master.
The board's report, dated March 2 but tabled in Parliament yesterday, concludes that none of the allegations raised by Captain Mario Grech holds water, although it points to a series of shortcomings which were "not serious".
Capt. Grech had filed a judicial protest against the company claiming, among other things, a lack of life-saving equipment and safety drills aboard the ferries and that a boatswain had been employed on the strength of forged qualifications. He also claimed the presence of the potentially deadly Legionella bacteria in the water supply of three ferries.
The board dismissed these allegations but made a number of recommendations for better control over shift changes, clarification of times of rest for crewmen, stricter controls over ferry loading and the introduction of procedures for the engagement of personnel.
Capt. Grech, who is suing the ferry line over its decision to suspend him after he made his claims last September, had asked for the findings of the board of inquiry to be used as evidence in the case.
But the Finance Ministry told the Gozo court last week that the report had not been finalised and it felt it should first be tabled in Parliament before being released.
The board was chaired by Carmel Conti and composed of Ghassan Abdullah, Col Emanuel Mallia, Paul Miruzzi and lawyer Cynthia Scerri De Bono.
With regard to Capt. Grech's claims about the presence of Legionella, the board concluded that the ferry company had acted correctly and in line with recommendations of the Health Department.
It also said that according to evidence it had heard, the employee who reported being infected with the disease had contracted it from his own house and not on board any of the ferries.
The board also dismissed Capt. Grech's claims that not enough time was being allocated for crew safety drills and that the ferries lacked safety equipment.
Furthermore, it found there was no discrimination against Capt. Grech on the allocation of overtime.
It, however, referred to the claim of a boatswain in possession of a false certificate, saying the police had investigated the case and had taken appropriate action.
The report said the person who had issued the false certificate no longer worked for the company, while the crewman who benefited had his promotion withdrawn and was suspended pending investigations.
With regard to a final claim on the promotion of Norbert Spagnol from the post of chief officer to that of captain, the board concluded it could not establish whether Mr Spagnol had passed the interview for the promotion due to lack of proper documentation and conflicting evidence.
It, therefore, recommended the introduction of proper practices for the engagement of personnel.
Attempts to contact Capt. Grech, who remains suspended from his job at Gozo Channel, were unsuccessful.