5 - 11 October 2000

Names for ferries ‘technically correct’

The names given to Gozo Channel’s new ferries have existed in the past and are technically correct, the company said in a statement.
Gozo Channels said that at first the company wanted to name the vessels Gaulos and Malta, however these names were already taken up in the Maltese Shipping Registry and therefore the registrar general of shipping could not accept these proposed names.
Thus, the company had to settle for the names MV Gaudos and MV Malita.
Following some research made in Malta and consultations with knowledgeable persons in this field, the company established that the present names Ghawdex and Malta have derived from other names over the centuries.
Ghawdex was originally referred to as GWL, which eventually became Gaulos (by the Greeks) later Guados (by the Romans) and later still Godso/Gaudis.
Godso became Gozzo/Gozo whereas Gaudis later became Ghawdix, today referred to as Ghawdex.
The name Melita was given by the Romans and later the Arabs referred to it as Malitah. The “H” was eventually dropped and the island became Malita later Malta, as the country is now universally known.
“It is appreciated that historians may give different interpretations to a particular event or events, but it seems from various articles in the press, that the words chosen have existed in the past and therefore are technically correct,” Gozo Channel said.
The company said the name Gaudos was first announced in an interview given by the chairman of Gozo Channel which appeared in The Sunday Times of 14 May 2000 under the title of “Gozo Channel committed to its social obligations”. The opening paragraphs in this interview refer to the Gaudos and Malita.