Sea transport between Malta and Gozo: Q1/2025
- During the first quarter of 2025, the total number of trips, vehicles and passengers increased by 9.6, 1.7 and 5.4 per cent, when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024.
- During January-March 2025, vehicle traffic originating from Ċirkewwa was busiest on Fridays and Saturdays. At the Mġarr terminal, vehicle traffic was highest on Sundays and Mondays.
- During January-March 2025, passenger traffic originating from Ċirkewwa was busiest on Saturdays and Fridays. At the Mġarr terminal, passenger traffic was busiest on Sundays and Mondays.
- January registered the highest number of trips between Mġarr and Valletta – 785 or 33.9 per cent of total trips for the quarter – while March registered the highest number of passengers – 80,885 or 37.7 per cent for the quarter.
Sea transport between Malta and Gozo: Q1/2025
Sea transport between Malta and Gozo: Q1/2025
Sea transport between Malta and Gozo
Between January and March 2025, a total of 10,526 trips were carried out, carrying a total of 1,529,105 passengers (Table 1). March was the busiest month recording a total of 3,856 trips or 36.6 per cent of total trips for the quarter (Tables 3 and 7).
Sea transport between Mġarr and Ċirkewwa
A total of 1,314,294 passengers travelled between Mġarr and Ċirkewwa during the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 1.5 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024. The highest number of passengers was recorded in March – 524,764 or 39.9 per cent of the total for the quarter. When compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the number of vehicles increased by 1.7 per cent, totalling 472,813 (Tables 2 and 3).
The number of trips during the first quarter amounted to 8,213, an increase of 4.4 per cent over the same period in 2024 (Table 2). March registered the highest number of trips – 3,083 or 37.5 per cent of total trips for the quarter (Table 3).
During January-March 2025, passenger and vehicle traffic from the Mġarr terminal was busiest on Sundays and Mondays. On the other hand, passenger traffic originating from Ċirkewwa was busiest on Saturdays and Fridays, while vehicle traffic was busiest on Fridays and Saturdays (Charts 4 and 5).
Chart 1. Passengers and vehicles crossing between Malta and Gozo
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Sea transport between Mġarr and Valletta
During the first quarter of 2025, a total of 2,313 trips were carried out carrying a total of 214,811 passengers (Table 6). When compared to same quarter in 2024, the number of trips increased by 33.3 per cent and the number passengers increased by 37.5 per cent. January registered the highest number of trips – 785 or 33.9 per cent of total trips for the quarter – while March registered the highest number of passengers – 80,885 or 37.7 per cent for the quarter (Table 7).
Map 1. Distribution of trips between Malta and Gozo during Q1/2025
Chart 2. Distribution of passengers by type of transport between Malta and Gozo during Q1/2025
Chart 3. Passengers and vehicles to and from Mġarr and Ċirkewwa
Reference months - January to March
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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 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.
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 and 15/02/2024-25/03/2024.
4. 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 |
*The fast ferry service vessel, Gozo Express (Virtu Ferries) replaced San Pawl (Virtu Ferries) on 17/05/2022.
5. The two service providers (Gozo Fast Ferry and Virtu Ferries) have merged and are providing service under one company, namely Gozo High Speed.
6. 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.
7. Different approaches to data collection are being applied at the Mġarr and Ċirkewwa harbours with regards to the Gozo Channel service. Data source for the Mġarr side includes Automated Ticketing System (ATS), while data for the Ċirkewwa side is dependent on the manual clicking system.
8. The data is not normally subject to revision.
9. More information relating to this news release is available in the Sources and Methods.
10. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
11. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
12. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.
