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Ferry suffered mechanical failure

On the morning of Jan 26, the Port Authority of Igoumenitsa was informed that, during the departure of the 'Lefka Ori' from the port of Venice, a mechanical failure was detected. The ship berthed in the port of Igoumenitsa with 88 passengers, 92 trucks, 60 private cars, two trailers and five campers. An inspection was carried out by officers of the Local Inspection Team of the Central Port Authority of Igoumenitsa and then, upon presentation of a certificate of class maintenance from the classification society that monitors it, it was allowed to continue sailing.

Trial into death of man in Piraeus commenced

The trial into the death of the 36-year-old Antonis Kariotis, who drowned while trying to board the 'Blue Horizon", now sailing as 'Lefka Ori', in Piraeus in Sept 2023 was scheduled to start in the city on Jan 20, 2025, with the ship’s captain and three crew members facing serious charges. The three men are accused of deliberately pushing Kariotis into the swirling water as he ran onto the loading ramp while the ferry was getting ready to leave the port, bound for Iraklio. The ship sailed off in front of dozens of outraged witnesses and it did not return to port until 40 minutes later when ordered to do so by a prosecutor. One of the crew members has been charged with homicide with possible intent and the other two for aiding the crime. The captain, meanwhile, has been charged for breaching shipping regulations.

Ship of shame claims new victim

The Greek shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis resigned on Sep 11 following the death of a man who was pushed into the sea by crew members of the 'Blue Horizon' in Piraeus. The passenger was late but had a ticket. Surveillance cameras recorded how two crew members tried to push the 36-year-old man from the ramp back onto the quay because the ferry bound for Crete had already loosened its lines. In the struggle, the man finally fell into the sea between the stern of the ferry and the harbour wall and drowned in the powerful whirlpools of the ship's engine. The captain of the ferry only returned to the port at the request of the port police. Since then, the ferry has been called the “Ship of Shame” in the Greek media. Experts pointed out that there was an obligation to rescue people overboard and that the ferry should not have left in the first place as long as the ramp was not closed. The Coastguard arrested the captain and three crew members on the evening of the incident. Two crew members have now been released for the time being. However, the captain of the Attica Group ferry “Blue Horizon” and the sailor who is said to have pushed the passenger into the water remained in custody for negligent homicide and failure to provide assistance. According to a voice recording that was published onm Sep 11, the captain of the 'Blue Horizon' claimed the victim “slipped and fell.” The captain admitted to seeing the incident on camera, which clearly shows the victim did not slip, but was pushed by the crew members. “He held on to the ramp, he did not step on it. He just put one foot to get on, but he slipped because the ramp was already lifted up,” claimed the captain. “We are in trouble,” was the last sentence on the voice recording. Early on Sep 11, after the defendants’ testimonies to the investigative magistrate, the prosecutor decided on pre-trial detention for two of the four crew members, including the captain.