The family of a Somali migrant fisherman who died in the Simshar tragedy of two years ago has filed a judicial application calling for the payment of damages.

The judicial letter was filed against the owner of the boat Simon Bugeja, his wife Sharon and Dr Anthony Gruppetta on behalf of the Fisheries Department.

Four persons died when the Simshar exploded in mysterious circumstances in July 2008. The victims were Simon Bugeja's son Theo, his father Karmenu, Noel Carabott and Abdurahman Abdulle Gedy. Simon Bugeja was the sole survivor.

The application for compensation was filed by Dr Tonio Azzopardi on behalf of Mr Gedy's family, which is resident in Mogadishu, Somalia. Mr Gedy was badly burnt in the explosion and died after a number of days as he waited for rescue. He was buried on the grounds of the mosque in Corradino.

The family referred to the preliminary report on the disappearance of the Simshar, compiled by maritime law expert Dr Ann Fenech and said that Mr Gedy's death was caused by negligence and lack of observance of the law and regulations, including regulations on the use of safety equipment.

They observed that contrary to the provisions of the law and regulations, the Simshar did not transmit data from its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). It had resulted from the inquiry report that Simon Bugeja did not know how to use the emergency position indicating radio beacon. Neither did he know how to use digital selective calling and the VMS distress button. He did not know, or was not given the necessary training to know what to do in case of an emergency and what measures he had to take to save the lives of his crew.

The judicial letter said that the Fisheries Department had failed to enforce local and EU law and safety standards.

The family called upon Simon Bugeja to provide it with the name of the company with which the Simshar was insured and warned that failure would result in further legal action.