Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524813
3 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 2 AUGUST 2024 NEWS GozoToday is a weekly newspaper focused primarily on Gozo. It hopes to serve as a source of information on business, culture, entertainment and of course current affairs. Gozo has a special charm about it but it is also a bustling Island with an identity of its own. We will strive to bring you the news over the next three months. At this stage we are planning to take advantage of the influx of local and foreign visitors to this marvellous Mediterranean Island. But we could be tempted to continue with this newspaper project beyond the Summer months. GozoToday will be published every Friday and is available to numerous outlets in Gozo and on the ferries that carry so many visitors to Gozo from Malta and beyond. GozoToday MediaToday Co. Ltd Vjal ir-Rihan San Gwann SGN 9016 EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt GozoToday is published by MediaToday in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo and Planning MINISTERU GĦAL GĦAWDEX U LIPPJANAR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Gozo Channel operates a scheduled ferry service be- tween Malta and Gozo and owns three ferries - the MV Gaudos, MV Ta' Pinu and MV Malita - but also operates the MV Nikolaos under charter. The fourth Gozo Channel ferry arrived in Cirkewwa on the 10th June 2019 and was introduced as a temporary measure until a new full-time replacement could be found. The company had initially said that the MV Nikolaos had been chartered for six months. When the vessel entered ser- vice with Gozo Channel, then Minister for Gozo Justyne Caruana had claimed that the MV Nikolaos would remain in operation until a tender was awarded for a fourth vessel to permanently join the Gozo Channel fleet. The vessel flies a Greek flag and was built in 1987. Caru- ana had said that the 160-car capacity Nikolaos was intro- duced following consultations which began in May 2018. The MV Nikolaos immeditae- ly came under heavy criticism for a number of reasons, espe- cially related to accessibility. The ferry lacked an eleva- tor, was hard to access due to the inconvenience of its steep staircase and there was no em- barkation and disembarkation point for passengers, who had to use the ramp used by vehi- cles. Passengers who leave their car in the Nikolaos have to ne- gotiate a steep, narrow climb of some 36 steps – highly un- comfortable for those with child or the elderly. No lift is available for these commuters. Motorists who are ushered to drive up to the upper deck have it easier, since aboard the Nikolaos, the upper deck shares its passenger space with cars. Surely enough, the Commis- sion for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) had told sister newspaper MaltaTo- day that the vessel was not suit- able for use in the long term. "The CRPD is aware of the vessel's numerous shortcom- ings with respect to accessi- bility for all, which the Gozo Channel Company Limited has partially mitigated in the light of the temporary employ- ment of the vessel in the ferry- ing service between Malta and Gozo," spokesperson Bernard Busuttil had said. However, he highlighted that the "CRPD does not deem such arrangements to be ade- quate should the vessel Niko- laos be employed in the long term." Experts to determine specifications for fourth Gozo Channel ferry The MV Nikolaos has never been a favourite among passengers, due to a lack of accessibility