Greek inquiry into 2023 migrant shipwreck finds coastguard breached maritime rules - sources

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's Ombudsman has found that the coast guard failed to follow maritime rules in one of the Mediterranean's worst shipwrecks in 2023, raising the alarm only after the overcrowded migrant boat sank, sources told Reuters on Friday.

The conclusions of the inquiry by Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis, which have not been published, confirm survivors' testimonies and have been sent to a naval court investigating potential criminal actions by the authority.

Last week, Pottakis recommended disciplinary action against eight coast guard officers citing "clear indications" of alleged dereliction of duty which resulted in endangering the lives of those aboard the trawler named Adriana.

The Shipping Ministry said that judicial authorities would evaluate the report and that it trusts the coast guard for the "effective protection" of Greek and EU borders.

Coast guard authorities have denied any wrongdoing and on Friday referred to the Shipping Ministry's statement when asked for comment.

The coast guard was monitoring Adriana for 15 hours before it capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern town of Pylos on June 14, 2023. It had left Libya for Italy with about 750 people on board. Only 104 are known to have survived.

The inquiry found that the coast guard did not follow protocol and delayed the search-and-rescue (SAR) operation as it waited for the boat to leave Greece's jurisdiction and sail to Italy, one of the sources said.

"At no stage before the boat sank was the risk escalated from monitoring to a distress or even alert phase," the source added, citing the 148-page report which dismisses coast guard statements that the boat was seaworthy and those on board did not seek rescue.

Other findings, the sources said, include the coast guard's lack of response to calls by the European Union's border agency Frontex, no request for assistance, and the deployment at the scene of only one coast guard vessel that could officially carry 36 people, had special forces on board and little rescue equipment.

Two merchant vessels that had approached Adriana were told by the coast guard to leave before the trawler capsized, the sources said. When people fell in the sea the rescue operation was delayed.

The coast guard did not alert Adriana over its final attempt to approach it and coastguard communications at pivotal hours were not recorded making any conclusion about its capsizing unsafe, according to the sources.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Sharon Singleton)