The Labour Party has chartered a Gozo Channel ferry to bring Gozitans to Valletta for today’s heavily promoted May Day activity, but when contacted this week the company was reluctant to disclose the price of the charter.

Gozo Channel chairman Joe Cordina confirmed on Friday that the Labour Party had chartered a ferry for Gozitan supporters, and he also confirmed that the Labour Party would be picking up the tab for the charter.

But when pressed for the price tag, all he would say was that the cost was: “At a higher price than it used to be chartered under the previous administration.”  The use of the word “administration” instead of ‘party in government’ or simply the ‘Nationalist Party’ is curious considering that it is presumably not the government but, rather, the Labour Party, which is footing the bill. The argument, however, could be put down to one of mere semantics.

Asked if the ferry would be berthing at Sa Maison – a longer trip but one that disembarks passengers from Gozo within walking distance of Valletta, and far closer than the usual alternative of Ċirkewwa – all Mr Cordina had to say was “No.”

The company also confirmed that this is not the first time a Gozo Channel vessel had been chartered.

Follow-up emails to Mr Cordina seeking clarifications were not returned.

This newspaper is informed however, that the last time the “previous administration”, ie the Nationalist Party, had chartered a Gozo Channel vessel was 25 years ago. That charter had come at a cost of Lm1,200, or around €2,800 in today’s money.

Sources within Gozo Channel have also informed this newspaper that the ferry will disembark passengers today at Grand Harbour, from where they will be able to take the Barrakka lift virtually straight up to Castille Square, where the meeting, to be addressed by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, will be held.

The same sources also expressed concern over the fact that since one of the ferries will be laid up in Grand Harbour this afternoon, there will only be two ferries plying the Mġarr-Ċirkewwa route during what is usually the crossing’s busiest time of the week.