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ATHENS — The Greek official investigating a deadly shipwreck in the Mediterranean has summoned the head of the Greek coast guard to testify on claims it may have pulled the vessel over.
Eighty-two bodies were recovered following the shipwreck, but U.N. refugee and migration agencies believe as many as 650 people may have perished in the incident in June 2023 off the coast of Pylos as they attempted to enter Europe by sea from Libya.
Despite concerning testimonies from those on board about events leading up to the vessel capsizing and intense international pressure on Greece from agencies including EU border agency Frontex, the coast guard decided that there was no need for an investigation.
Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis then set up an independent investigation into the case, which could be completed by the fall.
Greek officials, who spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk, said the ombudsman had summoned more than a dozen Greek officials to testify. Among those is the head of the Hellenic Coast Guard Vice Admiral Georgios Alexandrakis, whose term was renewed by the conservative Greek government last February.
“The operational practices of the Greek coast guard fully comply with the international and national legal framework as well as with the highest moral duty to save human life at sea,” an official at the coast guard said adding that it had saved hundreds of thousands of lives from 2015 until today. “The coast guard categorically rejects accusations of illegal activities of any kind,” the official said.
They added that in the case of alleged deviations from appropriate behaviour, internal investigation and disciplinary control mechanisms are activated, independently or in parallel with judicial proceedings or investigations conducted by other competent authorities.
The Greek ombudsman declined to comment.
Survivors say the Greek coast guard tied up the vessel and attempted to pull it, causing the boat to sway, which the Greek authorities strongly deny. Other critics say that the Greek authorities should have acted faster to keep the vessel from capsizing.
Frontex said it received no reply from Greece after it offered to send a plane to monitor the overcrowded boat. Italy warned of dead children on the migrant ship hours before it capsized.
Greece has been repeatedly accused of migrant “pushbacks” by international organizations and numerous detailed investigative reports in international media. The Greek government denies these allegations.
A New York Times investigation in 2023 included video footage that appeared to show migrants in Greece being put into a speedboat destined for Turkey. The Greek government denied the accusations arguing that they come from Turkish sources.
Last week, the BBC reported that the Greek coast guard was responsible for more than 40 migrant deaths in the Mediterranean over a three-year period, including nine people who “were deliberately thrown into the water.” Officials from the Greek shipping ministry told Greek media that the accusations are unsubstantiated and argued that the Greek coast guard saves thousands of lives.
The number of people seeking refuge in Europe has risen significantly in recent years as the economic and political conditions throughout North Africa and in places such as Afghanistan, Syria and Palestine deteriorate. According to Frontex, over 230,000 people attempted to cross the Mediterranean in 2023.
This story has been updated.
