A ferry which joined the Gozo Channel fleet last week to ease long queues at the harbours, has only been leased for the summer months.

The 32-year-old ro-ro vessel, leased from Greece with crew, is costing the state entity up to €5,000 a day, according to maritime sources. Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana is refusing to provide financial details, citing “sensitive information”.

The MV Nikolaos was leased from a Greek company through a direct order approved by the Finance Ministry. Gozo Channel did not issue a call for tenders for the service, despite the high cost involved.

Asked to explain why the state-owned company had not issued a competitive tender, as it is obliged to do under EU procurement rules, the Gozo Minister failed to reply but promised a call for tender when the fourth ferry is introduced permanently.

Confirming that the boat would only be here during “the summer period”, a spokesman for the Gozo Minister said: “Gozo Channel shall be issuing a tender for the identification of a ro-ro ferry which should complete the current line-up of ferries on a permanent basis.”

No one knows how many crew members are on board, how much are they being paid, who is paying for fuel and who is cashing in on the bar

Asked how much the leased vessel was costing Gozo Channel and whether the government had made a special allocation of public funds for the lease, the spokesman declined to give any details.

“Gozo Channel is not in a position to release commercially sensitive information,” the spokesman said.

Gozo Channel officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the commercial details were in fact “a complete secret” and only the company’s chairman and its lawyers were privy to them.

The new vessel being given diesel by the contractor who supplies fuel to Gozo Channel ferries.

“No one knows how many crew members are on board, how much they are being paid and under what conditions, where are they staying when not on board, who is paying for the fuel of the vessel and who is cashing in on the bar and other on-board services, whether Gozo Channel or the ship’s owners,” one official said. On the other hand, despite some complaints about the limitations of a 1987-built vessel when compared to the facilities of the three Gozo Channel ships built in Malta, commuters seem to have welcomed the new service.

“The ship looks horrendous and it does not have a lift for the disabled or the elderly. Passengers have to board from the garage ramp, as there is no separate entrance for vehicles and passengers,” one frequent user said.

Another commuter, however, described the garage as very large and comfortable and the speed of the crossing is good: “Despite its constraints, a fourth ship is still better than three and the service is better with the latest vessel.”

Government sources said that although the Gozo Minister was pushing for a fourth vessel to become a permanent feature of the ferry service, no decision had yet been taken.

“Although a fourth ship might be useful in summer, it is highly unlikely that it will make economic sense in winter when demand is much lower,” a senior government official said.

“Gozo Channel is already heavily subsidised by taxpayers so one needs to see if an extra vessel is viable on the long term.”