Dozens of people protested at the port of Syros, right outside the entrance ramp of the passenger ferry Blue Star Paros, at noon on Friday, September 8. Holding banners in their hands and shouting slogans, those gathered protested the murder of the 36-year-old Antonis, which shocked all of Greece.
@kondylas_m Οι διαδηλωτές μπαίνουν στο Blue Star για τον Αντώνη .. 🙏🏻 #syros #mobilization #demonstration #antonis #death #ship #bluestar #port #cyclades24 #kondylas #foryou
On Friday, hearts were broken at the Church of the Evangelistria in Agios Nikolaos in Crete, where the funeral of 36-year-old Antonis took place, who lost his life so unjustly when crew members pushed him to his death from the Blue Horizon at the port of Piraeus.
A crowd had arrived at the packed chuch to pay their last respects to the bereaved Antonis. The president of PASOK, Nikos Androulakis, and local MPs Yiannis Plakiotakis (ND) and Katerina Spyridakis (PASOK) were present.
Immediately after the funeral, the mayor of Agios Nikolaos, Antonis Zervos, delivered his eulogy, speaking of all the enormous problems of society highlighted by the death of the 36-year-old.
"Antonis lived quietly but left deafeningly. Putting on the table at once all the issues that today's society has," Mr Zervos emphasised.
"First of all the absence of people because I can't imagine that it was a human being who pushed him and pushed him to drown because he knew that is where he would end up. Even the best swimmer would not be able to deal with the wave from the propeller of this huge ship.
"But that's not all. The captain was watching but left. Sometimes, a man is overboard, and the engines stop and search. Not even a life preserver was thrown here. Such inadequacy and inability of the port authorities to control the area of the large port."
Earlier, Metropolitan Mr Gerasimos, who officiated at the funeral of 36-year-old Antonis, spoke about the personality and morals of the deceased.
"We will never forget his smile, kindness and love for the world and children. We will always remember how much he protected young people by warning them and telling his parents to watch out for certain things. We will never forget that this man helped anyone in need without having so much potential. From this position, as a church, we will always pray for our brother, who departs today," he said.
Relatives and friends collapsed at the funeral of Antonis
The body of the 36-year-old arrived, at about 11 in the morning, in a white coffin at the church where relatives, friends and a crowd of people welcomed him.
The video of the murder
Crew members of the ship #BlueHorizon are seen to push away a 36yo passenger that was late.
That led to the passenger losing his balance, falling in the sea and unfortunately, losing his life.
The incident took place tonight on the #Piraeus port, #Athens. pic.twitter.com/Y3StpNSKp8— Greek City Times (@greekcitytimes) September 6, 2023
As the days pass since the tragic incident on the Blue Horizon ship, where crew members pushed the 36-year-old Antonis into the sea and died, the circumstances under which it happened are beginning to become clear.
The unprecedented events were interconnected. Not only did they throw the unfortunate Antonis into the sea, but afterwards, the ship did not hold the engines to start a rescue operation, something unprecedented in maritime history.
By not stopping the engine, there were violations of maritime law since, according to international regulations and customary law.
In addition to prosecuting four crew members, the Piraeus District Attorney ordered an urgent criminal investigation by the Prosecutor's Office into the responsibilities of the Coast Guard to establish whether its representative was at the scene as he should have been to prevent the tragedy and what he did when the ship sailed leaving the 36-year-old helpless.
For the abandonment of 36-year-old Antonis in the sea, resulting in his drowning, as admitted by the ship's owning company, Attica Group, "At the time he gave the order to sail, there was no incident on the ramp."
"Afterwards, a man was caught falling into the sea by the Bridge camera. The master's assessment and decision were also wrong and completely contradicted the training he has received and regular maritime practice," the company added.
Apart from the captain, all involved crew members had visual contact with the incident.
As for the prohibition of the victim's entry to the ship, it was done by the decision of the Captain, and as the company claims, "it was done for security reasons, as the ship was in the process of leaving and boarding had been completed."
In the same announcement, the company accepts, however, that "his violent repulsion is not justified under any circumstances and for any reason."
To the ramp, and while the ship was already in motion, they had to let him pass and not push him towards where he was moving, i.e., to the ramp that had begun to rise. Authorities are investigating why the two crew members were obsessed with getting the passenger off.
The mistake was made from the beginning.
According to insiders, from the moment the passenger boarded, the captain was to start the ship if the ramp had first been secured. This is non-compliance with article 22 of PD 177/2000, which in paragraph 11 states that "the securing of the ramp and the safety door must be done before the ship sails under the captain's responsibility".
Also evident in the video that captured the incident is the absence of the port authorities near the ship, as provided by article 14 of the ministerial decree, which states that the duties of the port police are "to take the appropriate measures during the boarding and departure of passenger ships...to ensure the smooth and safe movement of passengers and vehicles in the onshore port areas and boarding/disembarking".
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