Emanuel Azzopardi is a good storyteller, who captivates you with an infectious smile.
A marine engineer with 40 years’ experience, he recalled yesterday how the Jean de La Valette, a catamaran operated by Virtu Ferries, was followed by Somali pirates.
He was telling his story to Tourism Minister Mario de Marco on board the catamaran.
It was two years ago when the brand new catamaran was making its maiden voyage to Malta from the Australian shipyard where it was built.
“We had to take a longer route to travel far from the Somali coast and at one point we noticed four skiffs with hooded and armed men inside heading in our direction,” he said, using his hands to give an indication of the size of the boats.
The Jean de La Valette, however, was too fast for the pirates and outran them with ease. The catamaran is the fastest big boat in the Mediterranean and the third fastest in the world.
Pointing to the engineer’s station on the bridge, Mr Azzopardi with a smile pointed out that the ship’s engines were named after the saints linked to the Birkirkara parish.
The largest engine is called St Helen after the patron saint, he added proudly, as the minister looked at the computer screen displaying a glistening collection of steel pipes.
Mr Azzopardi is the chief engineer on the Jean de La Valette, named before the recent controversy on the Grand Master’s surname erupted.
The catamaran, which is Virtu Ferries’ flagship, carries 800 passengers and 130 vehicles. It makes the channel crossing between Malta and Pozzallo in 90 minutes, even in bad weather.
After a tour of the ship, Dr de Marco lauded Virtu Ferries for the investment it made to strengthen the link between Malta and Sicily.
The company started operating the ferry service in 1988 and last year carried some 55,000 passengers from Sicily to Malta and almost 90,000 from Malta to Sicily. Dr de Marco said 30 per cent of the visitors from Sicily were not Italian but foreigners who opted for a two-destination holiday.
He said the Italian tourist market was the second largest after the UK and efforts undertaken during the 2009 crisis to entice Italians to visit proved successful.