Car alarms on board the Gozo ferry should be switched off to avoid noise disturbance for passengers and staff but especially for the wellbeing of hospital bound patients being transported in an ambulance. The situation is accentuated during rough sea conditions are car alarm are more likely to be triggered.

The call was made last year by the Office of the Ombudsman following a complaint filed during a radio programme. Details on the case emerged from the 2023 annual report which was recently tabled in Parliament.

However, when the Office contacted Gozo Channel the latter adopted a rather defeatist approach claiming that not all car alarms could be switched off and hence it could do little to address the issue.

Yet, when the Ombudsman researched practices in other countries it turned out that such issued had been resolved. Brittany Ferries in the UK, P&O Ferries, and Viking Ferries either advise vehicle owners to disconnect alarms or to deactivate them. Moreover, the Office called for measures to increase awareness through targeted announcements, signage and boarding procedures.

It was suggested that whenever am ambulance or patient bus is on board, car owners should be instructed to disable their alarms or set them to a less sensitive mode.  In many cases, locking the car with a physical key rather than electronic key fob (tiny remote) can prevent motion sensors from activating.

Another investigation related to the Gozo ferry service was about the practice of passengers staying in their vehicles during the crossing. This time around the case was flagged through a newspaper letter whereby a commuter complained that several vehicle owners were leaving their engine started, despite being ordered to switch it off by the crew.

Upon investigation Gozo Channel confirmed it was prohibited to remain in the car deck during transit, but was encountering problems to enforce such restriction. Consequently, in the short term a police officer was assigned to monitor the situation during the day. While this measure brought about the much desired compliance, the company said it could not sustain the financial burden of having a police officer on board.

In its recommendation the Ombudsman called for random spot checks by the police, increased signage, and if necessary the imposition of fines.

However, the level of compliance improved dramatically after the company started alerting vehicle owners not to remain in the car during boarding and that the ferry would not depart in case such practice was not observed. Furthermore, the company started enforcing the regulation by locking access to the car deck, thus making the area out of bounds until they very end of the trip.