Appeals by survivors of the tragic shipwreck accepted
By order of the Prosecutor of the Reviewing Court, criminal proceedings are to be brought against four senior officers of the Coast Guard, including its current chief, whose case had been shelved by the prosecutor of the Piraeus Naval Court, and the survivors had lodged an appeal against the shelving.
The criminal prosecution concerns a felony and other offences, specifically: a) serial exposure through failure to fulfil the legal obligation to rescue and assist persons in distress, which caused the death of the victims, b) serial exposure of other persons by failure to fulfil the legal obligation to rescue them and leave them helpless, and c) manslaughter by negligence through serial failure to fulfil legal obligations.
We would like to remind you that, on May 16, 2025, criminal proceedings were brought by the Public Prosecutor of the Piraeus Maritime Court against 17 members of the Coast Guard, including senior officers of its leadership, among whom was its former chief. The case has been referred to the competent investigating judge.
According to the order of the Prosecutor of the Reviewing Court and as pointed out by the survivors in their complaints and appeals:
It is worth noting the assessment included in the Provision regarding the cause of the capsizing and sinking of the vessel, according to which:
The lawyers of the organizations and collectives representing the survivors and victims of the Pylos shipwreck, as well as those who worked on and supported this case, express our satisfaction with the acceptance of the survivors' appeals and the extension of criminal proceedings against the four senior officers of the Coast Guard, for whom the case had been closed.
The referral for preliminary investigation for felonies of 21 members of the Coast Guard, including its current and former chiefs and other senior officers, as well as the findings of the Prosecutor of the Reviewing Court, are a substantial and self-evident development in the process of vindicating the victims and delivering justice.
The organisations:
Network for the Social Support of Refugees and Migrants
Greek League for Human Rights
Greek Council for Refugees (GCR)
Initiative of Lawyers and Jurists for the shipwreck of Pylos
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA)
Legal Centre Lesvos
Statement by Eleni Spathana, Lawyer at RSA, representing survivors of the Pylos shipwreck
A survivor of the Pylos shipwreck meets a relative. Kalamata, June 2023. Photo: Maria Sidiropoulou Three years ago, on the night of June 13, 2023, more than 600 people drowned…
The night of 13-14 June 2023 marks three years since the Pylos shipwreck, when the overcrowded trawler Adriana capsized 47 nautical miles south-west of Pylos, within the Greek search and rescue zone. The omissions and actions of the Greek authorities led to one of the deadliest known shipwrecks in the Mediterranean, with approximately 650 people dead or missing.The timeline that follows documents the critical developments of these three years: the events of that night, the findings of independent investigations, the findings and conclusions of institutional bodies, the testimonies and current legal status of the survivors, and the progress of the ongoing criminal proceedings.
Three years on, the crime of Pylos still seeks justice and accountability.
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