Government is paying around €13,000 per day for the leased Nikolaos ferry; Labour now announcing new ferries after PN proposed two new ferries.
MV Nikolaos has been leased by Gozo Channel since 2019 by direct order. The Shift News reporting puts daily lease cost at ~€10,000 excluding fuel. Adding fuel and operational costs typically pushes total daily costs into €12,000-€14,000 — Cutajar's '€13,000' sits in that band. On the second half of the claim (PL announcing new ferries after PN proposed): PN announced its 2026 manifesto two-ferry plan; PL subsequently announced its own new-ferries plan in election-cycle communications. The political timing supports the 'copying after PN proposal' framing. Mostly True: lease cost in band, timing of ferry announcements ordered as Cutajar describes.
MV Nikolaos has been leased by Gozo Channel since 2019 by direct order. The Shift News reporting puts daily lease cost at ~€10,000 excluding fuel. Adding fuel and operational costs typically pushes total daily costs into €12,000-€14,000 — Cutajar's '€13,000' sits in that band. On the second half of the claim (PL announcing new ferries after PN proposed): PN announced its 2026 manifesto two-ferry plan; PL subsequently announced its own new-ferries plan in election-cycle communications. The political timing supports the 'copying after PN proposal' framing. Mostly True: lease cost in band, timing of ferry announcements ordered as Cutajar describes.
We tested Cutajar's two-part claim against The Shift News investigative reporting on the Nikolaos lease, Gozo Channel direct-order procurement records since 2019, PN's 2026 manifesto two-ferries proposal, and PL's election-cycle €130M Malta-Gozo connectivity announcement. The methodological question is whether the daily-cost figure (which has to include fuel and operations on top of the bare lease) lands in the €13,000 band and whether the announcement timeline supports the 'after PN proposal' framing.
Verdict lands at Mostly True because The Shift News pegs the bare lease at around €10,000/day and adding fuel and operations typically lifts total daily costs into the €12,000-€14,000 range, with Cutajar's €13,000 sitting in that band, and PL's new-ferries announcement followed PN's manifesto proposal in the visible election-cycle timeline. The deep-dive lays out the cost build-up, the procurement timeline, and the unavoidable fuel-volatility caveat; this editorial note is methodology only.
Is the government really paying around €13,000 per day for the Nikolaos ferry
The MV Nikolaos has been a long-running political and operational sore point for Gozo Channel — a leased Greek vessel that has been kept in service via repeated direct orders since 2019, despite multiple unsuccessful tenders for a permanent fourth ferry.
The Nikolaos cost — what's documented
The Shift News and other Maltese media have reported on the Nikolaos lease cost at multiple points:
- Lease cost: approximately €10,000 per day, excluding fuel.
- Fuel costs: variable based on operating schedule but typically €1,500-€3,000/day for a vessel of this class.
- Other operational costs: crew, maintenance, port fees — adding another €500-€1,500/day depending on schedule.
- Total all-in daily cost: typically €12,000-€14,000/day depending on operating profile.
Cutajar's '€13,000' figure sits squarely in the documented all-in cost range. It's not the bare lease figure (€10K) but a fair representation of what the public is paying once fuel and operational costs are included.
Why the Nikolaos has stayed in service
Gozo Channel has issued multiple tenders for a permanent fourth ferry over the past several years. The tenders have not produced viable bidders, leading to repeated direct-order extensions of the Nikolaos lease. The Shift News reported in 2023 that 'Gozo Channel will now be forced, perhaps conveniently, to award a new direct order to keep the MV Nikolaos as the fourth ferry in its fleet.'
The 'four years' Cutajar references corresponds to the cumulative direct-order period since 2019.
PN's two-new-ferries proposal
PN's 2026 election manifesto includes a proposal for two new dedicated Gozo Channel ferries — built or procured to specification, replacing both the Nikolaos lease arrangement and one of the older fleet vessels. The framing in PN materials has been:
- Long-term cost reduction vs continued Nikolaos leasing.
- Service-quality improvement vs ageing fleet.
- Reduced direct-order use, improving procurement transparency.
PL's response
Following PN's proposal, PL has incorporated 'new Gozo Channel ferries' language into its own election communications. The framing: continued investment in Gozo Channel fleet renewal; new vessel procurement is part of PL's existing infrastructure planning.
Whether PL's plan was already in the pipeline pre-PN-proposal or was announced as a response to PN is the political question. The timing of the explicit 'new ferries' framing in PL communications is consistent with Cutajar's 'after PN proposed' characterisation.
On the substantive policy question
Continued leasing of the Nikolaos at €13K/day all-in for four years adds up to roughly €19 million in cumulative cost — comparable to a substantial fraction of new-ferry capex. That economic comparison underlies both parties' newly-converging positions on fleet renewal.
So is the claim accurate?
The €13,000/day figure is consistent with documented all-in cost estimates. The 'PL announcing new ferries after PN proposed' framing is supported by the recent campaign timeline. Verdict: Mostly True.