Ferries in Greece remained docked on Wednesday due to a strike by the Seafarers’ Union (PNO) after a passenger died “tragically” from crew members of a boat in the port of Piraeus.
“On the occasion of the terrible events on board the ship “Blue Horizon”, which led to the tragic death of passenger Antonis Karyotis, the PNO called for a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, according to a press release.
The victim, Antonis Karyotis, 36, had rushed at the last minute to board a ferry that was leaving this port near Athens and bound for Crete last Tuesday.
But on the ramp, crew members tried to prevent him from boarding. One of them pushed him, causing him to fall into the sea, according to a video that shocked all of Greece.
Despite the screams of the passengers, the ferry had left the port and no crew member tried to save the drowned man.
However, the PNO union regrets “the comprehensive allegations against all Greek seafarers” who work “overtime” in violation of labor rights, which “calculatively results in endangering the safety of the ships themselves and the passengers.”
The incident caused great excitement in the country. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his “disgust and horror” at this “shocking event.”
The shipping minister resigned on Monday and four crew members, including the captain, were charged with murder and aiding and abetting murder.
The general director of the shipping company Attica Group, owner of the Blue Horizon, also resigned.