The water tanks on board three Gozo Channel ferries were infected by deadly bacteria, one of the company's senior masters said in a judicial protest in which he exposed serious safety shortcomings.

The judicial protest was filed yesterday against the Finance Minister and the company's chairman and the chief executive officer.

Captain Mario Grech said that after finding Legionnaire's Disease, which thrives in water, the company instructed the ships to cut their water supply and inform passengers that the pumps had malfunctioned should they query the water shortage.

To make matters worse, he continued, the company dragged its feet when it came to cleaning the tanks, so much so that he personally had to stop a ferry until it was disinfected. Capt. Grech said lifesaving equipment on board the ships were not replaced during maintenance and decided to stop a ferry from operating until the apparatus was returned or substituted.

Moreover, he said the ships' captains were not given the means to check whether a crew member was trained on what to do in emergencies. In fact, he said, drills were not allocated enough time by the company and were considered to be of secondary importance. He said that he had also decided not to allow a ship to sail because it had reached its maximum capacity of passengers and the crew did not have the necessary training to handle an emergency.

Capt. Grech said he was twice assigned a boatswain who admitted he did not sit for any examination and did not have the necessary qualifications, despite being in possession of what he suspected was a forged certificate that carried the signature of the head at the human resources department.

And when he pointed out that the vehicles being loaded exceeded the maximum weight or were not being safely positioned, putting both those onboard and their property at risk, he said he was removed from the cargo route. Capt. Grech said he filed the protest after he had pointed out these things, and other issues affecting employees such as allowances and lack of rest, to Captain Fritz Farrugia, the company's chief executive officer, but nothing was done about them.

The protest was signed by lawyer Kevin Mompalao.

kbugeja@timesofmalta.com