The lack of an independent inquiry into the Fairmount conversion projects confirmed the government knew something was wrong but did not want the truth to emerge, the General Workers' Union has said.

The union said several weeks had passed since it published a full report on the "scandalous contract" and the government had not contradicted it.

The union is suspecting corruption in the contract that cost the country €80 million.

The Fairmount projects - which involved work on two semi-submersible barges, the Fjell and the Fjord - were the last nail in the Malta Shipyards' coffin.

The union's 38-page report concluded that the Fairmount case was a major scandal that was not due to a human error but mismanagement. It underlined the possibility of corruption, even on a major scale.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditing company appointed by the government to investigate the controversial loss-making projects, which it said amounted to €37 million, left many questions unanswered and raised more concerns, the union said.

It asked whether Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Investments Minister Austin Gatt had failed to order an inquiry because they knew something had gone wrong and did not want this to emerge.