Sea Diamond sinks on reef, chief cabin steward and housekeeper arrested?

[Chronic Observer]

Why would they arrest the chief cabin steward and housekeeper? Aren't life vest assigned and aquired duing muster? If there were a shortage, isn't it the passengers responsibility to notify a purser or something?

 

 

 

 

Capt., 5 others charged in ship sinking

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS, Associated Press

 

 

ATHENS, Greece - The captain and five officers of a cruise ship that sank off an Aegean Sea island were charged Saturday with negligence, state television reported.

The six officers were charged with causing a shipwreck through negligence, breaching international shipping safety regulations and polluting the environment, state NET said. All were released pending further investigations.

If convicted, the officers face a maximum five-year sentence.

Nearly 1,600 people were retrieved from the sinking ship Thursday in a three-hour rescue operation after the vessel foundered on a volcanic reef, but some passengers complained of an insufficient supply of life vests, little guidance from crew members and being forced into a steep climb down rope-ladders to safety.

Divers continued to search for a Frenchman and his daughter who disappeared after their cabin flooded with water when the ship struck rocks.

The 469-foot Sea Diamond struck rocks Thursday in the sea-filled crater formed by a volcano eruption 3,500 years ago off the island of Santorini, sinking about a quarter-mile off the coast, in waters of uneven depth, a few minutes before it was to dock.

The captain, chief mate, second mate, third mate, chief cabin steward, and housekeeper of the Greek-flagged vessel were arrested after the accident, a Merchant Marine Ministry spokeswoman said earlier Saturday.

The ship's operator, Louis Cruise Lines, has insisted the 21-year-old vessel was well maintained.

"The vessel maintained the highest level of safety standards and was equipped with the latest navigation systems," said Giorgos Stathopoulos, spokesman for the operator.

NET earlier reported that investigators believed most of the damage to the ship's hull was done before the captain issued the distress signal, when he was trying to maneuver the ship away from the rocks.

The ministry spokeswoman had said the captain and the five others were appearing before the prosecutor on the nearby island of Naxos.

"The testimony process has started, and the prosecutor is examining all the documents from the initial investigation," she said, speaking on condition of anonymity according to government policy.

Officials were also cleaning up fuel that leaked out of the vessel, which sank 15 hours after foundering.

Thursday's evacuation was the largest Greek rescue operation since the September 2000 Express Samina ferry disaster, which killed 80 people near the holiday island of Paros when it struck rocks in the night and sank.

The country's tourism minister said those responsible for the accident "will be held accountable in the strictest way."

"Greece is a major tourism destination and incidents like this must not be allowed to occur," said Tourism Minister Fanny Palli Petralia said.

Most of the passengers were American, but there also were groups from Canada and Spain.

[paul929207]

I thought it was strange when I read that the chief cabin steward & housekeeper were arrested. The charges did not seem to be something they would be responsible for, but who knows.

 

Paul

[HeinBloed]

According to Greek Television they are freed:

 

http://news.ert.gr/en/4/24457.asp

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[wb2]

Six crew members of "Sea Diamond" cruiser, which went down in the Aegean off Santorini at the early hours on Holy Friday, were freed after making formal declaration of their version of events before the Naxos Prosecutor today. The six crew members were indicted on three misdemeanor charges, unintentional shipwreck, and violation of international regulations to avoid crash and pollution.

According to his testimony, the captain could not explain how the ship- equipped with high technology warning system- struck on the reef, contained in the map. He maintained that the ship was on its regular route and deviated from its route due to sea currents while he categorically denied failure of the warning system. He also said that seeing the ship taking a 20 degree list, he and other crew members went down to second deck, putting their lives at risk to make sure that there were not any trapped passengers. The crew made all efforts to safely evacuate passengers.

"Louis Hellenic-Cruises" running the ship denied reports about repairs underway on the deck 2 which had an impact on its water tightness and stressed that the cruiser was fully equipped with life saving devices.

 

In the meantime, the 45 year-old Frenchman and his 16 year-old daughter remain unaccounted for while experts divers who got into the water have not found the two missing people.

[MMSmith]

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- The captain and five other senior crew members of a Greek-flagged cruise ship which ran aground and sank off an island in the Aegean Sea have been charged with negligence and violating international maritime rules.

 

Two French passengers were missing Saturday and an official in the prosecutor's office told CNN charges against the captain and crew could be upgraded if they are declared dead. The Cyprus-owned Sea Diamond carried 1,153 passengers -- including 731 Americans -- and 391 crew when it ran aground on a rocky reef while trying to dock at harbor of the holiday island of Santorini.

 

The prosecution official said the captain admitted in an interview that he tried to free the ship from the reef before evacuating the passengers as required by international rules. The ship's hull was ripped open by the effort to move off the rocks, causing it to sink in Santorini's volcanic lagoon 18 hours later. :(