From stopgap to stalemate: The Gozo ferry that never left – Luke Said

Gozitan Nationalist Party candidate Luke Said, in a statement on Tuesday, highlighted that in 2019, the MV Nikolaos sailed into the Gozo Channel fleet as a temporary solution. It was never meant to be permanent, a leased vessel intended to fill the gap until a new, purpose-built ferry joined the line.

He pointed out that six years later, in 2025, that same vessel, now more than 30 years old, remains in service. What was supposed to be a short-term fix has turned into a long-term embarrassment.

When the Nikolaos first arrived, ^[1] the then-Minister for Gozo Justyne Caruana had been very clear about the arrangement. “The MV Nikolaos vessel is to be in operation up until a tender is awarded for a fourth vessel to permanently join the Gozo Channel fleet.”

Said argued that “those words have aged poorly. No such tender has been awarded, and no new ferry has been built. Instead, the government continues to lease the same outdated vessel at a staggering cost.”

He went on to say that “the numbers speak for themselves. The MV Nikolaos costs taxpayers over €10,000 every single day, excluding fuel. Multiply that by six years, 365 days a year, and Malta has spent roughly €21.9 million just keeping this temporary ferry in operation. That is €21.9 million that could have gone directly toward the construction of the new ferry Gozo has been promised time and again.”

Said stated that “the Nikolaos was leased to strengthen Gozo Channel’s operations and ease congestion at Mgarr and Cirkewwa. It has surely helped, and this clearly shows the importance of having a 4th ferry as part of the fleet. But the government’s failure to act since then has left the island dependent on a ship that was never designed to be part of the permanent fleet.”

“The Gozo Channel line, once a proud symbol of reliable connectivity, has been forced to rely on an ageing, foreign-owned ferry that costs millions and delivers frustration,” he added.

In Parliament on 1 April 2025, Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri announced that the government would issue a tender for the construction of a new ferry by mid-year. Luke Said noted that “it was a statement of intent, finally, some progress, or so it seemed. Yet by October 2025, half a year later, no such tender has materialised.”

He said that when Opposition MPs Ivan Castillo raised the issue in Parliamentary Question 31281 on the 10th of October 2025;

Can the Minister confirm whether the tender for the fourth Gozo ship has been issued? If it has issued, can it list the tender document? If it hasn’t come out, can you explain why it hasn’t come out yet? Can you also say what studies have been done and list them as well?

Said said that Minister Clint Camilleri just answered by stating, “I ask the Hon. Questionable to refer to the answer to parliamentary question 31036.” Thus referring to a completely different question by Opposition MP Chris Said, which focused on the failed tender CT2379/2024 (which closed on 2 April 2025 with zero bids) to RENT a new ferry. “Highlighting the fact that there is still nothing.”

Luke Said went on to say that “every day the Nikolaos sails across the channel is a reminder of how badly the government has failed to plan for the island’s future. The ferry is old, costly, and was never meant to shoulder this burden for so long. Its continued use exposes the lack of foresight and urgency in addressing Gozo’s most basic infrastructural need, reliable maritime connectivity.”

He stressed that “he Nikolaos may keep sailing for now, but it does so as a floating monument to political procrastination. It’s time the government stopped patching the problem and finally delivered the permanent solution Gozo was promised in 2019.”

Luke Said concluded by saying that “the people of Gozo are not asking for miracles, just for the government to do what it said it would do.”

File photo: DOI