Ponte Ferries blocked on its first day of return to Sicily
The Ponte Ferries catamaran was detained by the Augusta port authorities over the weekend, forcing it to cancel planned trips and leaving several passengers stranded in Sicily.
Sources said the Augusta Port Authority did not allow Ponte Ferries to conduct the return trip to Malta after it entered the Sicilian port on Friday following a months-long hiatus.
It was finally able to leave Augusta on Sunday afternoon, reaching Valletta in the evening.
It returned to Augusta on Monday morning with a handful of passengers.
According to its pre-published schedule, it had missed one return trip from Augusta and one crossing to Sicily from Malta.
Since August, Ponte had already experienced two disruptions of its brand new service.
This time the problem was with documentation related to crew certifications and employment conditions. A source said they were not in line with the Maritime Labour Convention.
The convention, which Malta ratified in 2013, ensures comprehensive worldwide protection of the rights of seafarers.
It also ensures a level playing field for countries and shipowners committed to providing decent working and living conditions for seafarers, protecting them from unfair...