Finger pointing in the deadly Pylos shipwreck, in which around 560 people died, continued between various bodies in the Greek government today.
Greece’s Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy harshly rebuked the country’s Ombudsman for a report released Monday. The Ombudsman report concluded that the Hellenic Coast Guard did not fulfill their duty to save and protect lives that day, and that there was missing evidence critical to the investigation.
The June 2023 shipwreck of the Ariana fishing trawler off the coast of Pylos Greece was the most deadly shipwreck in the modern history of the Mediterranean. Coast Guard vessels were in waters next to the ship as it capsized and hundreds of people drowned. There have also been various allegations by survivors that the ship capsized due to an attempted tugging from the Coast Guard. The Hellenic Coast Guard has maintained that they did all they could to save lives that day.
The statement released Tuesday by Greece’s Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy staunchly supports the Hellenic Coast Guard, stating: “We have full confidence in the Coast Guard, both for the effective protection of the country’s and the European Union’s borders, and for carrying out search and rescue duties in a manner that respects and protects the fundamental rights of those in danger.”
The Ministry argues that the Ombudsman investigation cherry-picked testimonies: “Among several versions of the facts of the case, it systematically favours those allegations which call into question the proper exercise of the Coast Guard’s powers, without any credible substantiation.”
The government instead points to those it feels should have been the focus of the blame: “The conclusion objectively attempts to shift the discussion from the criminal networks of traffickers to the officers of the Coast Guard, who are fighting day and night to protect the country.”
Nine Egyptian men who had been on the Ariana had been charged with facilitating illegal entry into Greece and criminal responsibility in the shipwreck. They spent a year in prison and then were all acquitted. Internal Egyptian government documents have proven that Greek authorities knew that the nine survivors were likely innocent and chose to ignore the evidence and pursue the case.
The Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy statement further critiques the Ombudsman for overstepping its role, arguing that the report “reaches arbitrary conclusions that risk prejudicing the judicial assessment,” and that legal and disciplinary bodies, not the Ombudsman, should assess potential criminal responsibility.