Greek coastguards charged over deadly migrant boat disaster

A Greek court has charged 17 coastguards over one of the deadliest migrant boat disasters in the last decade.

The Adriana, a massively overcrowded fishing trawler, had been heading from Libya to Italy with between 500-750 people on board when it sank in international waters west of Pylos in Greece in June 2023.

There is no official death count since the number on board was never confirmed, however up to 650 people are estimated to have died. Many women and children are believed to have perished as they were stuck below deck when the trawler sank.

Only 104 passengers survived, and 82 bodies were recovered. The shipwreck occurred in one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean.

The captain of one Hellenic Coastguard vessel, the LS-920, faces charges of “causing a shipwreck” that led to the the deaths of at least 82 people, “dangerous interference of maritime transport,” and “failure to provide assistance.”

The crew of the same vessel have been charged with “simple complicity.”

The then Chief of the Coast Guard and the Supervisor of the National Search and Rescue Coordination Centre in Piraeus is among four senior officials who have been charged with “exposing others to danger” despite their legal obligation to rescue them.

Lawyers representing the victims and survivors of the shipwreck say they welcome the criminal prosecution of the 17 coastguards, two years after the shipwreck.

Prior to the disaster, the coastguard, which had been notified about the boat by Italian authorities, had been shadowing the vessel for hours as it sailed within Greece’s area of responsibility for search and rescue.

Although the vessel was clearly in bad shape, Greek officials were unable to evacuate the passengers before it sank.

At the time, the coast guard said the Adriana’s captain had insisted he did not need assistance and wanted to continue sailing to Italy.

However, audio recordings were released earlier this year casting doubt on this version of events. In one recording, a Greek official could be heard telling the Adriana’s captain to say “we don’t want to go to Greece” to a boat that was approaching with aid.

Survivors have been calling for justice and accountability for the tragedy / Credit: AP

Several survivors said passengers had been calling for help repeatedly, and said that the boat capsized during a botched attempt by the Greek coastguard to tow it, an allegation which Greek officials strongly deny.

Last year, a case was dismissed against nine Egyptian men accused of people smuggling and causing the shipwreck.

A prosecutor argued that Greece lacked jurisdiction to charge them, since the incident happened in international waters.

The indictments against the nine men were based on testimonies from nine survivors. Defence lawyers argued that testimony had been coerced, and that their clients had been paying passengers who were scapegoated by authorities eager to put the blame for the sinking on overcrowded conditions.