Rory Carroll and agencies The captain and three crew members of a Greek ferry that sank killing at least 65 people have been charged with multiple counts of murder. Investigators were focusing on reports that the Express Samina, carrying more than 500 passengers, was apparently on automatic pilot minutes before it hit a well-marked rocky outcrop near the island of Paros on Tuesday.
As investigations continued into suggestions that the crew was watching a televised European Champions League football match when the ferry ploughed into rocks 3km from shore, the vessel’s owner pointed the finger of blame at Captain Vassilis Yiannakisits. The captain was allegedly arguing with a colleague over the television’s fuzzy reception when the 115m ferry ran aground. According to Greek newspaper The Athens News, Yiannakisits has crashed two other vessels under his command. The paper also claims that an engineer and former employee of the ship’s owners, Minoan Flying Dolphins, a subsidary of Minoan Lines, had asked the harbour authorities to inspect the 35-year-old ferry the day before Monday’s scheduled departure.
Engineer Antonis Sorocos, a member of the Panhellenic Union of Merchant Marine Engineers, believed the vessel, which is due to be taken out of service in December, was unfit to sail. Sorocos said the ship’s security system and its instruments for controlling speed and direction were in very poor condition. Crew member Panayiotis Gastaglis, who was on helm duty, told the newspaper he could not see the rock islet until it suddenly appeared 20m to 30m ahead because the instruments indicated that the boat was on course.
Minoan Flying Dolphins rejected claims that the ferry was not seaworthy, saying the merchant marine ministry had approved its sailing.
“The company declares that it will make available all of its services to shed light on the reasons for the tragic accident,” it said in a statement. Whether the accident was a result of human error or mechanical fault will be the subject of a magistrate’s investigation which should be completed within the next 20 days. The final death toll may be higher than 65. About 12 people are officially listed as missing, but the number may increase as other passengers not accounted for may have bought tickets on board the ship, and tickets had not been issued to small children.
Survivors have condemned the ferry crew for abandoning them to panic and chaos when the vessel slammed into the Portes islet five hours after it left the Athens port of Piraeus for an overnight voyage to the island of Lipsi, close to the coast of Turkey.
Many of the passengers were too terrified to jump as the ferry slid beneath the waves. “It was horrific. There was an old woman cradling a baby but she would not move. I said a prayer and next thing we were in the water,” said Marianne Richards. George Kioulafis, another survivor, said: “I heard the cries of a baby in the water. I managed to save it but his mother drowned.”
Crew members have insisted, however, that an orderly evacuation had been carried out. The Greek Justice Minister, Michalis Stathopoulos, interrupted Parliament to announce that he had ordered a criminal investigation into the disaster. It was the worst maritime disaster in Greece since the passenger ferry Iraklio went down in 1965 killing 217 people. It emerged this week that ageing Greek ferries such as the Express Samina do not have to comply with stringent European Union safety rules for passenger ships because Athens has negotiated a controversial opt-out. The Greek Prime Minister, Costas Simitis, pledged a full investigation into the disaster. “I assure the Greek people that plenty of light will be shed on this tragedy that has shaken all of us,” he said.