Three days after a collision off the coast of Chios left 15 migrants dead, Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Minister Vasilis Kikilias appeared before Parliament to answer questions, firmly backing the Hellenic Coast Guard and placing responsibility on the operator of the speedboat.

Addressing members of Parliament’s Standing committe on production and trade , Kikilias said the collision was sudden and resulted from what he described as dangerous maneuvers by the speedboat’s driver.

“We will not be lectured on humanitarianism,” he said, responding to opposition criticism. “We will continue to defend our borders.”

Coast Guard Account Reiterated

Kikilias outlined the sequence of events as presented in the Coast Guard’s briefing.

According to the minister’s account, a Coast Guard patrol vessel based in Oinousses was alerted by a shore-based surveillance camera to the movement of a suspicious target. The speedboat, he said, was traveling at high speed from the Turkish coast toward Chios, carrying an unusually large number of passengers and operating without navigation lights.

Officers signaled the vessel to stop, in accordance with standard procedures, he said. There was no response.

“The vessel abruptly changed course and carried out dangerous maneuvers, which led to a violent collision,” Kikilias told lawmakers.

He emphasized that Coast Guard personnel are tasked both with safeguarding Greece’s maritime borders and conducting rescue operations at sea.

Administrative and Judicial Review

The minister confirmed that a administrative inquiry  has been ordered and will review all available evidence.

“I will not prejudge the outcome of either the administrative or the judicial investigation,” Kikilias said. “Any earlier briefing could have been incomplete, as search operations were still underway.”

In a second round of remarks, he addressed questions about onboard recording equipment, stating that the vessel’s captain did not activate the thermal camera. Even if it had been activated, he said, it “would not have provided meaningful clarification” about the incident.

“The administrative inquiry will examine every aspect,” he added. “Based on the information currently available, there was no other recording capability on that vessel. We will review the incident thoroughly and look at how we can improve.”

Pushback Claims Dismissed

Kikilias rejected claims that the incident involved pushbacks, the practice of forcibly returning migrants at sea.

“There is no evidence of any pushback,” he said. “What the available information shows is a change of course that resulted in the collision.”

He maintained that there had been no deviation from operational protocols and attributed the crash to what he described as a sudden and forceful maneuver by the speedboat’s operator.

“The collision itself would not necessarily have caused such severe consequences,” he said, criticizing what he called attempts to assign intent before the investigations are complete. “We should wait for the findings of the justice system, including expert assessments and a full inquiry.”