Sea transport between Malta and Gozo: Q2/2026
- In Q2 2026, trips, vehicles and passengers rose by 11.5 per cent, 2.0 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively, compared with Q2 2025.
- From Mġarr, vehicle traffic peaked on Sundays and Mondays, while passenger traffic peaked on Sundays and Saturdays. From Ċirkewwa, vehicles peaked on Fridays and Saturdays, and passengers on Saturdays and Fridays.
- June accounted for the largest share of Mġarr–Valletta trips at 36.7 per cent, while April had the highest passenger share at 34.3 per cent.
- In Q2 2026, the new fast ferry routes carried 77,733 passengers. Sliema–Mġarr recorded the highest volume, at 25,430, followed by Mġarr–Sliema with 24,755 passengers.
Sea transport between Malta and Gozo: Q2/2026
Sea transport between Malta and Gozo: Q2/2026
Sea transport between Malta and Gozo
Between April and June 2026, a total of 12,977 trips were carried out, carrying a total of 2,037,526 passengers (Table 1). June was the busiest month recording a total of 4,646 trips or 35.8 per cent of total trips for the quarter (Tables 3, 7 and 9).
Sea transport between Mġarr and Ċirkewwa
A total of 1,640,258 passengers travelled between Mġarr and Ċirkewwa during the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 3.0 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2025. The highest number of passengers, 582,251 or 35.5 per cent of the total for the quarter, was recorded in April. When compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the number of vehicles increased by 2.0 per cent, totalling 559,633 (Tables 2 and 3).
The number of trips during the second quarter amounted to 9,178, an increase of 2.8 per cent over the same period in 2025 (Table 2). May registered the highest number of trips, 3,125 or 34.0 per cent of total trips for the quarter (Table 3).
During the second quarter, vehicle traffic originating from the Mġarr terminal was highest on Sundays and Mondays, while passenger traffic was busiest on Sundays and Saturdays. On the other hand, vehicle traffic originating from Ċirkewwa was highest on Fridays and Saturdays, while passenger traffic originating from Ċirkewwa was busiest on Saturdays and Fridays (Charts 4 and 5).
Sea transport between Mġarr and Valletta
During the second quarter of 2026, a total of 2,589 trips were carried out, carrying a total of 319,535 passengers (Table 6). When compared to the same quarter in 2025, the number of trips decreased by 4.7 per cent and the number of passengers decreased by 4.8 per cent. June registered the highest number of trips – 949 or 36.7 per cent of total trips for the quarter, while April registered the highest number of passengers – 109,469 or 34.3 per cent of the total for the quarter (Table 7).
Sea transport between Mġarr and Sliema via Buġibba
During the second quarter of 2026, 605 trips were operated on each of the Buġibba–Mġarr, Mġarr–Buġibba, Sliema–Mġarr and Mġarr–Sliema routes. Passenger volumes were higher in June than in May across all routes. The Sliema–Mġarr and Mġarr–Sliema routes registered the highest passenger numbers, carrying 25,430 and 24,755 passengers, respectively, during the quarter, while the Buġibba–Mġarr and Mġarr–Buġibba routes carried 13,778 and 13,770 passengers, respectively (Table 9).
Map 1. Distribution of trips between Malta and Gozo during Q2/2026
Chart 4. Vehicles to and from Mġarr and Ċirkewwa by day of the week
Chart 5. Passengers to and from Mġarr and Ċirkewwa by day of the week
Tables
Tables
Methodological Notes
1. The source of the data included in this release is administrative information provided by the Gozo Channel Co. Ltd and Transport Malta.
2. The fast ferry service operating between Mġarr and Valletta commenced on 1 June 2021.
3. The fast ferry service operating between Mġarr and Sliema via Buġibba commenced on 5 May 2026.
4. The table below illustrates the vehicle and passenger capacity of each Gozo Channel vessel:
| Vessel | Vehicles | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| MV Gaudos | 72 | 900 |
| MV Malita | 138 | 900 |
| MV Ta' Pinu | 138 | 900 |
| MV Nikolaos | 160 | 650 (Summer) / 350 (Winter) |
Periods when vessels were out of service for docking purposes:
MV Gaudos: 08/11/2023-30/11/2023 and 08/01/2026-05/02/2026.
MV Malita: 09/01/2024-30/01/2024.
MV Ta’ Pinu: 09/01/2023-02/02/2023, 27/02/2023-02/03/2023 and 07/01/2025-06/02/2025.
MV Nikolaos was put temporarily out of service between 18/04/2023-26/04/2023, 15/02/2024-25/03/2024, 05/05/2025-19/05/2025 and 05/03/2026-17/03/2026.
5. The table below illustrates the passenger capacity of each fast ferry service vessel:
| Vessel | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Your Wisdom (Gozo Fast Ferry) | 296 |
| Your Faith (Gozo Fast Ferry) | 296 |
| Gozo Express (Virtu Ferries) | 308 |
| San Franġisk (Virtu Ferries) | 316 |
6. The two fast ferry service providers (Gozo Fast Ferry and Virtu Ferries) have merged and are providing service under one company, namely Gozo High Speed.
7. Data for passengers travelling between Mġarr and Ċirkewwa comprises foot and vehicle passengers and vehicle drivers. The fast ferry service does not allow for the transport of vehicles thus, only foot passengers are included.
8. Different approaches to data collection are being applied at the Mġarr and Ċirkewwa harbours regarding the Gozo Channel service. On the Mġarr side the data source is based on the Automated Ticketing System (ATS), while data for the Ċirkewwa side is dependent on the manual clicking system.
9. The data is not normally subject to revision.
10. More information relating to this news release is available in the Sources and Methods.
11. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
12. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
13. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.
