Seven jailed over Greek ferry disaster
Seven crew members and company officials were jailed for up to 19 years today for their roles in a ferry disaster that involved many Britons and killed 80 people near the holiday island of Paros.
A court found the captain and first officer of the Express Samina ferry guilty of manslaughter and other offences in relation to the disaster.
Five other defendants, including two ferry company officials, received lighter sentences.
The disaster in September 2000 shook public confidence in Greece’s coastal ferry shipping safety and prompted a safety crackdown.
Many holiaying Britons were on board the ferry.
The defendants had faced a maximum of life imprisonment for their alleged role in letting the ferry hit rocks in the Aegean Sea outside Paros’ main port.
The court found that the 34-year-old vessel had been seaworthy, but that safety procedures on the roll-on, roll-off ferry had been neglected.
It cited poor safety training and a failure to properly secure the doors, and sound the alarm when the ship was abandoned.
First officer Tassos Psychoyios was sentenced to 19 years, while captain Vassilis Yiannakis received a 16-year sentence.
Both men spent 18 months in prison custody – the maximum allowed under Greek law – following the disaster.
Three crew members were sentenced to between eight years and 15 months for a series of misdemeanours that included abandoning ship without the captain’s permission.
Two senior officials from ferry operator Minoan Flying Dolphins – which had been renamed and restructured since the disaster – were each given 51 months in prison for negligence.
