VULCANELLO M

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Shipowner under house arrest, captain and 3rd officer arrested

On Feb 11, 2021, the shipowner Raffaele Bruno, the captain Gioacchino Costaiola and the third deck officer Giuseppe Caratozzoloof the 'Vulcanello M' were arrested by the Coast Guard at the end of the investigation by the Palermo prosecutor's office into the disappearance of the f/v 'Nuova Iside' off San Vito Lo Capo on May 12, 2020. The Judge for Preliminary Investigations, the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Palermo and the Coast Guard of Palermo on Feb 11, 2021, carried out the three judicial measures. The Captain from Procida was transferred from the island to the mainland in the morning and taken to the Poggioreale prison. The third officer was transferred to the Locri prison, while the measure of house arrest was applied to the shipowner. They were still under investigation for the crimes of manslaughter and negligent shipwreck, while the shipowner, placed under house arrest by the Special Intervention Unit of the General Command of the Corps of Port Authorities of Rome, was being investigated for the crimes of procedural fraud and personal aiding and abetting. After the disappereance of the fishing vessel and its crew of three cand extensive search activity conducted by the air and naval means of the Coast Guard of Palermo, allowed to recover the bodies of two crew members and, subsequently, with the help of specialized units of the Navy, to identify the wreck of the sunken fishing boat near the last known position. Subsequent investigations led to the seizure of the black box of the 'Vulcanello M' and to the inspection of the hull of the ship which also involved the Carabinieri of the Ris di Messina. The seizure of the ship and the following investigators brought the investigators to hypothesize the 'Vulcanello M''s responsibility in the collision. During the investigation, the Coast Guard investigators also carried out a series of searches at the headquarters of the Vulcanello shipping company which made it possible to ascertain that the ship's hull had been repainted after the collision with the fishing boat. Report with photo: https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2021/02/11/peschereccio-nuova-iside-arrestati-armatore-e-comandante-della-motonave-vulcanello/6097882/

Hearing regarding collision likely to be postponed

A hearing was scheduled for Oct 30 at the Court of Palermo in the context of the 'Nuova Iside' incident for the filing of the technical report, requested by the Palermo Public Prosecutor, to ascertain any traces of the fishing boat that may have been covered by the painting work carried out by the crew of the tanker. In all likelihood, the session will be postponed because the comparison operations of the 28 samples taken on the ship by the consultant appointed by the Prosecutor Giorgio Barbagelata with those already ascertained by the Messina RIS have not yet been completed. The ongoing investigations, coordinated by the deputy prosecutor Ennio Petrigni and by the prosecutor Vincenzo Amico, concerned the alleged collision that caused the sinking of the fishing boaton May 12, 2019, and caused the death of Matteo, Giuseppe and Vito Lo Iacono, the latter still missing. In the latest reports drawn up by the prosecutor's experts, it emerged that there have been four noises recorded by the microphones of the voyage data recorder of the tanker that would suggest a collision between the two ships off San Vito Lo Capo. Currently there were four suspects accused of manslaughter, submersion of a ship and failure to rescue the castaways - the master of the tanker, the owner of the company "Augustadue" and two officers on board.