Palumbo shipyard directors are expected to be charged with the involuntary homicide of a diver who drowned while working in a dock, the Times of Malta has learnt.

The police yesterday told this newspaper charges would be filed in relation to the death of Patrick Vella, 36, last March after a magisterial inquiry indicated that the directors had to bear part of the responsibility.

Sources said the charges were expected to be filed in court soon.

When contacted, Palumbo CEO Joseph Calleja, who is listed as one of the directors, said he had no knowledge of the police investigation nor of any charges to be filed. “This is news to me. I haven’t heard anything about the matter,” he said.

Mr Vella, from Żejtun, who had three young children, died while repairing a faulty underwater mechanism used to empty one of the drydocks. The cause of death was given as asphyxia due to drowning.

Mr Vella, a marine biologist and an experienced diver, died after he was sucked into the gate valve of Dock 4 due to differential pressure at the valve’s opening. In his conclusions, Inquiring Magistrate Joseph Mifsud had noted that criminal action should be taken against the directors for possible breaches of occupational health and safety legislation.

The inquiry had found that Mr Vella also bore some responsibility because divers should never enter the water alone. The magistrate also found that he had not gone into the water from a safe place where the differential pressure would have pushed him away from the gate valve’s opening.

It was also concluded that safety procedures could have been lacking, especially when third parties were contracted to do works on the dock.

The responsibility for ensuring safety ultimately lay with the company, the inquiry had found.

Besides Mr Calleja, the other shipyard directors are Giorgio Filippi and Antonio, Giuseppe and Raffaele Palumbo.

A 27-year-old Italian man died at Palumbo last month when he was hit on the head by a dislodged roller from a machine used to release mooring ropes.

The victim, who had only joined the company a month prior to the accident, is believed to have died on impact. His helmet was found about 30 metres from the body.