Lawyer Anne Fenech has been appointed by Transport Minister Austin Gatt to carry out an inquiry into the foundering of the Simshar.
Dr Gatt instructed Dr Fenech to carry out a preliminary investigation into the matter and to make her recommendations in terms of the Merchant Shipping Act.
The tragedy, which cost the lives of three fishermen, left a boy still missing at sea and his father badly injured, is also the subject of a magisterial inquiry.
The inquiry is being conducted by Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna who will investigate the circumstances that led to the sinking of the boat and the loss of life.
The Malta Maritime Authority is cooperating with the judicial authorities in the magisterial inquiry.
Only the master of the Simshar, Simon Bugeja, has survived. The search continues for his son, 11-year-old Theo.
Simon Bugeja's 61-year-old father Karmenu, 33-year-old Noel Carabott and 21-year-old Somali Abdulraham Abdala Gedi, who were on the boat when it sunk on July 10, were all recovered dead from the sea.
A spokesman for the Armed Forces of Malta, conducting the search for the boy using an Italian Military Mission helicopter, said yesterday the operation yielded no results.
The tragedy has become the subject of discussion, speculation and controversy both on what led to the disaster and also about the search and rescue operation.
The AFM said that given the information now emerging on this case from the sole survivor, it feels it is inappropriate to make accusations or allegations based on interpretation of information not available at the time.
The Labour Party's fisheries spokesman, Joe Sammut, said that while the Simshar tragedy should not be politicised, it should also be ensured that no one shirked responsibilities.
Dr Sammut said this was not the case of an authority or a government entity becoming a sacrificial lamb but there clearly were shortcomings the authorities should have prevented.
He said the AFM lacked sufficient resources to conduct the search operation and there were serious questions about the role of the Fisheries Department and the Vessel Monitoring System through which the position of seacraft could be monitored from land. Should it emerge that the government had been miserly, it should assume responsibility, Dr Sammut said.