Supreme Cruises vessel chartered by government to host migrants cost €6,500 daily

The Supreme Cruises vessel chartered by government to host migrants outside Malta’s search and rescue zone cost government €6,500 daily.

The figure was revealed in a parliamentary question by Nationalist Party MP Jason Azzopardi to Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri.

Supreme Cruises’ ‘Jade’ was the fourth vessel leased by government to host 75 migrants rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta.

Captain Morgan’s Atlantis, Bahhari and Europa II had already been chartered by government to host other groups of migrants which had previously been rescued.

Captain Morgan had charged a daily fee of €3,000 for every vessel, meaning government was paying €15,500 daily to sustain the floating detention centre.

The asylum seekers onboard the ships were brought to Malta on the 7 June, following reports of unrest by the migrants aboard.

No specific breakdown of the cost was provided.

The fees for all four vessels were issued through direct order, and no bidding procedure was carried out.

Malta and Libya recently set up joint coordination units in their respective capitals to tackle the migration crisis.

The head of Libya’s Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, praised Malta's support for the GNA, saying he hoped cooperation between the two countries would continue to grow. He said the GNA was determined to defeat aggression in Libya, for the country to regain stability.

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