Nine Egyptian nationals, survivors of the deadly Pylos shipwreck, accused of smuggling and causing the vessel to sink, were found not guilty. Below is the statement given by the captain of PPLS-920, the only Coast Guard vessel present during the sinking of the Adriana in June 2023.
About a year after the Pylos shipwreck, the deadliest shipwreck recorded in the Mediterranean in recent years, nine Egyptian nationals, survivors of the incident, faced charges of trafficking and causing the shipwreck, in a trial that began on May 21, 2024 in Kalamata.
On that day, strict security measures were in force outside the courthouse, as advocates, unions and representatives of humanitarian organizations gathered in Kalamata in solidarity. The building was cordoned off by riot police and access was only allowed to journalists and lawyers.
Despite reports stating that Miltiadis Zouridakis, captain of the Coast Guard vessel PPLS-920, would not be present at trial due to his participation in Frontex maritime exercises in Italy, Zouridakis appeared in court to testify as a witness.
PPLS-920 was the only Coast Guard vessel present on June 14, 2023, when the Adriana sank. Survivors attribute – among other things – the capsizing and sinking of the fishing vessel to an attempt to tow it by PPLS-920, resulting in the death of at least 600 people.
At the start of the proceedings, defense attorneys filed a motion that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
The defense argued that, since the fishing vessel had departed from Libya bound for Italy, sailing in international waters until the time of the shipwreck, the Greek court has no jurisdiction to judge alleged acts that took place outside its geographical jurisdiction.
The defense presented recent relevant decisions from Greek courts (in Rhodes, Chania, Heraklion), which recognized a lack of jurisdiction to try related cases, pointing out the paradox of recognizing a lack of jurisdiction (e.g. the court on Samos) while the Kalamata court is trying a similar case.
Testifying in court during the examination of the objection of the defense, the captain of PPLS-920 Miltiadis Zouridakis confirmed that the fishing vessel Adriana was sailing in international waters:
President: Do you know where the fishing vessel departed from on May 9, 2023 and what its destination was?
Captain: I personally received an order to set sail for this point, not knowing where it started from. Later, I found out from colleagues. I heard about it later, it wasn’t my responsibility to know where it had departed from.
President: So what did you hear?
Captain: That it probably departed from Tobruk.
President: Tobruk, Libya?
Captain: Libya.
President: To what destination?
Captain: For Italy.
President: For Italy. Its destination, Italy. Do you know if there was an intention to enter a Greek port?
Captain: It did not appear so.
President: It did not appear. Where did the incident occur? In international waters? How many nautical miles?
Captain: In international waters, now exactly, say 47, although I think it is clear, about there.
President: The Greek territorial waters, on the Ionian side, has been extended to 12 nautical miles. Correct?
Captain: Yes.
President: This incident happened at 49 nautical miles, so it is in international waters. Did the sinking of the ship take place there?
Captain: Yes, yes.
President: Yes. Do you know if [the location] was a way station for the fishing vessel… You said you had information that it was heading for Italy. Was Greece a stop along the way? Did this just randomly occur?
Captain: No, it didn’t.
President: Therefore, this fishing vessel was sailing on the open seas, in international waters.
Captain: Yes, yes.
President: Nor do you have any information that the vessel entered Greek territorial waters at any time. Do you have any such information?
Captain: No, and what we saw, occurred in international waters.
Zouridakis answered corresponding questions raised by the prosecutor. This was followed by the testimony of another crew member, who responded similarly.
The pre-trial statements of the survivors received by the Coast Guard were read, in which it was repeated that the fishing vessel’s destination was Italy. In answer to questioning, the nine Egyptians also stated that their destination was Italy and not Greece.
The public prosecutor proposed acquittal of the nine defendants, a decision that was accepted by the court.
From the testimony of the two Coast Guard officials, it was clear that they wished to “lighten” the position of the nine defendants.
However, questions surrounding the fatal shipwreck, which occurred over a year ago on June 14, 2023, remain. The answers should now be given in the next trial, expected to be heard in Naval Court regarding possible responsibilities of the Coast Guard, as well as the independent investigation into the causes of the shipwreck conducted by the Ombudsman .
In particular, the leadership of the Coast Guard must provide more answers. Despite having knowledge of the fishing vessel’s critical situation for at least 15 hours before it sank, it did not coordinate a Search and Rescue operation at any point, as is required, based on recent S&R exercises by the Coast Guard.
Moreover, the Coast Guard should answer why, according to official Coast Guard records, it took them thirty minutes from the sinking of the fishing vessel, to send an SOS signal for help from nearby vessels.
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