Ponte Ferries’ catamaran, the HSC Artemis will soon be able to weigh anchor and leave the Grand Harbour after its owners – the Fortina Group and the Magro Group – have sold the 600-passenger catamaran to a Spanish company.
According to a statement published by the FRS Iberia shipping company, which operates crossings between Spain and Morocco through the Strait of Gibraltar, the ageing catamaran will be joining its fleet next month.
The company did not state how much it paid for the ship’s acquisition.
Sources at Transport Malta have told The Shift that the HSC Artemis had been seized under a warrant of arrest for months and that it would not be allowed to leave Maltese waters until its owners pay all debts that have been accumulated with various suppliers.
A new arrest warrant was recently issued against the company that owns the vessel, Ponte Investments Ltd, for a debt of almost €1 million owed to Valletta Cruise Port for berthing facilities.
This latest arrest warrant follows another three issued within the span of a few months that were filed in court by HSC Management Services Ltd (€324,000), Focal Maritime Services Ltd (€109,000) and another by Valletta Cruise Port (€194,000).
Sources have also said that Ponte also owes millions of euros to Bank of Valletta for the original loan facilities.
Ponte Ferries had begun operations last summer to the port of Augusta promising to shake up the status quo of Malta to Sicily passenger ferry crossings by offering customers a cheaper alternative to Virtu Ferries, which has been operating the crossing for the last 30 years.
But inexperience, lack of staff and technical problems due to the vessel’s age rendered the service unreliable and left a bad taste in customers’ mouths after many of them had been left stranded in Sicily or had their voyages delayed by several hours.
In September 2022, the company, whose directors are Fortina Group CEO Edward Zammit Tabona and Magro Brothers’ CEO Christopher Magro, announced that the service was to be paused for winter.
But as debts continued to accumulate and suppliers started calling in their dues, the company wrapped up operations after just a few months.
This latest development left the Sicily-Malta fast ferry crossings once again in a quasi-monopoly situation, with Virtu Ferries being the only operator.
Pavi and Pama Supermarkets owner Paul Gauci announced several months ago the intention to begin offering another alternative service to Sicily.
The idea is to introduce trips from Malta with a small catamaran to the Marina di Ragusa, which he is managing under a concession, but nothing has materialised so far.