According to tracking data, the refugees’ boat remained motionless in the water for hours before the accident off the Greek coast. A version that contradicts the reports of the Greek Coast Guard.
The location of the ships involved in rescuing the distressed fishing boat in the Mediterranean could provide clues to what really happened in the Mediterranean tragedy. On Wednesday, June 14, the boat, hopelessly overcrowded with more than 700 people on board, sank in the depths of the Ionian Sea, about 75 kilometers southwest of the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese.
The boat, with around 700 migrants on board, lay motionless for more than seven hours before sinking, according to BBC research. This contradicts the Greek Coast Guard version, which claims that the boat was on its way to Italy and did not need to be rescued.
let’s see them chronology of the shipwreck and cover them Inconsistencies between the two versions about:
Tuesday morning, June 13:
08:00: FRONTEX, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, reports the first sighting of the fishing trawler and alerts the Greek authorities.
12:17 the non-profit organization Alarm Phone receives the first emergency call and informs the Greek authorities that the humanitarian situation on board is extremely serious.
15:00.: According to the BBC, a ship called “Lucky Sailor” is approaching the boat. Its owner told British media that the Coast Guard had asked him to deliver food and water to the migrants.
3:35 pm: Minutes later, a Coast Guard helicopter takes a visual survey of the area and, if you listen carefully, confirms that the boat is still moving at constant speed.
Against 18:00 another boat called “Guerreiro Fiel” is going to the same area as “Marinheiro da Sorte”, also to deliver food. This indicates that the boat with the migrants did not move for over two hours.
Despite this, the Coast Guard defends its version, stating that the fishing boat between 7:40 pm and 10:40 pm maintained its course and that the Greek patrol boat offered help and rescue several times during this period, but the migrants refused.
8:40 pm: The Greek patrol boat approached the migrant boat and offered assistance.
“At 20:40 we reached 200 meters,” the captain of the Coast Guard patrol boat told the Greek daily Kathimerini. “We advised that we would provide assistance if necessary,” he added.
However, there was no response from the ship, so the patrol boat followed the fishing boat “at a safe distance”.
8:45 pm: The captain reports that the ship “wasn’t moving any further”, so the patrol boat moved closer to do a visual inspection and offer assistance.
8:50 pm: The Coast Guard vessel casts a line over the bow of the crowded fishing trawler.
11:40 pm: Sinking: the boat stopped moving and began to tip over. At that moment, chaos erupts among the passengers and desperate screams can be heard. The boat capsized in less than a minute, according to the official report from the Greek authorities.
The route of the ships that responded to the Coast Guard’s distress call during the sinking refutes the official version.
MarineTraffic data analyzed by the BBC show that at around 11:40 pm several ships were heading at high speed towards the sinking boat, which found itself at the same point in the sea as the Lucky Sailor and Faithful Warrior were at 3:00 pm. 18:00 to deliver food and water to the trawler.
This site recorded the route of the two ships and the ships after the tragedy, as they are all equipped with tracking systems. The Coast Guard patrol vessel does not appear in the recording, as such vessels are not required to post their real-time location. The sunken fishing boat was also not equipped with a tracking device.
UK media released video of the _MarineTraffic_ tracking from June 13, showing the location of the stricken boat and the interaction of boats around the vessel. It confirms the chronology, but contradicts the Greek authorities’ version that the ship “always stayed the course and without problems”.
Watch the MarineTraffic video here:
The ship’s stoppage could also indicate a possible mechanical failure that could have put the 700 migrants on board in a critical situation.