Igoumenitsa: Tragic death of a 26-year-old seafarer – Order to clarify the case

He lost his life 26-year-old foreign seaman who was injured during the duration of workn on a ship, which was anchored in the sea area of ​​Plataria Igoumenitsa bay.

How did the work accident happen?

In a relevant announcement from the port authority, it is stated that in the afternoon hours on (2/11), the Port Authorities of Igoumenitsa and Sivota, from the Unified Center for Coordination of Search and Rescue that a 26-year-old sailor of a F/G ship was injured during his work on the Vanuatu flag ship and needed immediate hospital care. The announcement adds that “patrol boat L.S.-EL.AKT. went to the scene, picked up the patient and transported him to the port of Igoumenitsa, from where he was picked up by an EKAB ambulance and initially transferred to the Emergency Department of Igoumenitsa, while he was then transferred to the General Hospital of Ioannina “G. Hatzikostas”, where it ended up” and how a preliminary investigation is carried out by the Central Port Authority of Igoumenitsa.

The response of the Ministry of Shipping to the accusations of the head of the Department of Shipping and Island Policy of SYRIZA

The mobilization of the port corps in order to pick up a 26-year-old foreign sailor who had been seriously injured on a cargo ship off Igoumenitsa and subsequently ended up, was immediate, the Ministry of Shipping states in today’s announcement.

In response to the statements of the Head of the Maritime and Insular Policy of SYRIZA, Alekos Avlonitis, the Ministry of Shipping maintains that without any delay a Coast Guard patrol boat, on Thursday, November 2, the day the incident occurred, picked up the 26-year-old injured Georgian citizen and transported him to port of Igoumenitsa.

There, he adds, he was picked up by an EKAB ambulance and initially transported to the Emergency Department of Igoumenitsa. He was then transferred to the General Hospital of Ioannina where he unfortunately ended up.

The Minister of Shipping, Christos Stylianidis, was immediately informed of the tragic incident, who expressed his sincere condolences while instructing the Hellenic Maritime Accident Investigation Service to go to Igoumenitsa to conduct an investigation.

The preliminary investigation of the case has already been undertaken by the port authority of Igoumenitsa, while both the Flag Authority of the ship and the authorities of Georgia were immediately informed.

The Ministry of Shipping emphasizes that “the staff of the Coast Guard have proven in their long history that they rescue thousands of our fellow human beings who are in danger at sea”.

SYRIZA’s Maritime department head, Alekos Avlonitis, in his question in parliament to the Ministry of Shipping about the accident, stated that “the death of the 26-year-old seaman comes to be added to a series of occupational accidents and disasters that are increasing in our country at a stormy rate”.

“The infrastructures of our ports are dangerous, the security protocols prove to be incomplete, while the preparedness of the state apparatus for emergencies is insufficient,” emphasizes Mr. Avlonitis.

The head of SYRIZA asked the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy to immediately provide answers to the following questions:

a) How much time elapsed from the moment of the accident, which occurred on the “ATA 2” ship with the Vanuatu flag, to the transfer of the unfortunate seaman to the Hatzikostas Hospital in Ioannina?

b) Was the Coast Guard vessel used to transport the unfortunate seaman adequately equipped and staffed?

c) What is the availability of Igoumenitsa Port Authority vessels to deal with the same or similar incidents?