A chief officer and seaman of a Maltese-registered tanker will be charged with the manslaughter of five French crewmen who died after the ship collided with a fishing vessel in the English Channel six years ago.
The French fishing vessel ‘suffered catastrophic damage’ that resulted in its immediate sinking
A magisterial inquiry has ordered that criminal proceedings should be instituted againstChief Officer Vasiliy Ogarkov and Able Seaman Alexandrs Belikovs, of the Malta-registeredSichem Pandora.
The Kleinne Familie sank on January 5, 2006, leading to the deaths of Franck and Ludovic Heroville, Frederic Terpereau, Olivier Brusa and Thierry Gouselain.
The 103-page inquiry report said the two crewmen should be held criminally liable for breach of obligation to help vessels in distress, breach of duty to give assistance to people in danger at sea and breach of mandatory duty to report accidents.
Headed by Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani, the inquiry included the testimony from the sole survivor of the Kleinne Familie, Jean Michel Gueno, who said he was asleep when the collision took place.
He heard a “tremendous noise”, was thrown out of his bunk, reached out for the ladder and was engulfed by the currents. When he surfaced, there was a life raft floating by and another crewmember hanging on to a fishing buoy.
After climbing on to the raft, Mr Gueno said he tried to reach his colleague who did not want to let go of the fishing buoy, but did not manage it.
Magistrate Padovani noted that the French fishing vessel “suffered catastrophic damage” that resulted in its immediate sinking.
Investigations revealed that the estimated time of impact was not earlier than 7.30 a.m. The report concluded that the Klein Famillie failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to assess risk of collision, take appropriate action or give way according to law.
The Sichem Pandora too failed to keep aproper lookout or assess the risk of collision, the report said. It also listed the poor health of the Klein Famille’s master and poor radar signal ascontributing factors.
The inquiry, which Captain Mario Grech, Captain Joseph Degabriele and chief engineer Joseph Amato helped draw up, was released yesterday by the Transport Ministry which said the report “has been forwarded to the Attorney General for any action he may deem appropriate”.