A Gozo ministry spokesperson has confirmed with The Malta Independent that all Gozitans who are stranded in Malta without accommodation have been found rooms, and the ministry has now turned its attention to Maltese people stranded in Gozo.

The ministry has been organising hotel rooms for Gozitans stranded in Malta due to the storm, negotiating reduced prices. 

Gozitans will be paid back, and are being asked to keep their receipts. In addition Mater Dei Hospital posted on Facebook that a hotel group offered accommodation to Gozitan patients who had appointments at the hospital today.

It is on days like this that people making the argument for a permanent link between Malta and Gozo have their strongest arguments.

At 1.20pm on Tuesday, Gozo Channel announced that due to the bad weather, all ferry services were suspended until further notice.

Over the past few years there has been an ongoing debate on the idea of having a permanent link between Malta and Gozo.

The government has been working on proposals for a tunnel between the two islands and studies are being carried out on the feasibility of the project.

While anti-tunnel activists speak of the need to protect Gozo’s unique characteristics, those in favour argue that Gozo cannot continue to be isolated.

They mention, for example, the difficulties in crossing over to and from Malta on days of bad weather – like there is today. But then there is the counter-argument that days like this happen five or six times a year and it is not worth spoiling Gozo for a fgew days of bad weather.

The photo above was uploaded on Facebook by Brian Refalo today – it shows one of the Gozo Channel vessels challenging the rough seas to make it across. The photo was taken before the service was suspended.

Virtu Ferries has also cancelled its trip to and from Sicily for Wednesday. Extra trips will be made on Thursday.

VR100 Dep. Mla 05:00 hrs Arr. Pozz 06:45 hrs (scheduled)
VR111 Dep. Pozz 09:15 hrs Arr. Mla 11:00 hrs (extra)
VR110 Dep. Mla 17:00 hrs Arr. Pozz 18:45 hrs (extra)
VR101 Dep. Pozz 21:30 hrs Arr. Mla 23:15 hrs (scheduled)