Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis resigned on Monday morning over the brutal murder of 36-year-old ferry passenger Antonis by crew members last week. Two of the four arrested crew members of the ferry “Blue Horizon” were jailed until their trial.
Varvitsiotis was forced to resign by the Prime minister, state broadcaster ERT reported.
From the very first moment, Varvitsiotis made a series of statements that fueled the society outrage over the murder in cold blood, thus equitating the victim and the perpetrators, defending the Piraeus Port Authority although several Maritime Law violations have been recorded and he also praised the Port Authority officer who should be standing outside the ferry before it sailed.
All excuses and efforts to cover up or justifying the brutality were nullified as videos by CCTV cameras and ferry passengers posted on social media revealed the truth.
An investigator and public prosecutor decided early on Monday that the captain and the first officer of the ‘Blue Horizon’ ferry are to be remanded in custody until their trial for the death of 36-year-old Antonis Karyotis in the port of Piraeus.
Justice authorities, however, disagreed disagreed on whether or not to remand the second officer and the bosun, who were present at the murder, so they were released. Therefore, the final decision will be taken by the judicial council.
The second officer has been admitted to hospital for heart failure.
Citing sources, state-run news agency amna reported that in addition to charges of dangerous interference with maritime traffic, a felony, the captain was additionally charged with fatal exposure.
Antonis, a man with some disabilities, was brutally pushed by a crew member away from the loading ramp as he tried to get on board for his hometown on the island of Crete. He fell into the sea as the ramp was being lifting and drown in the vortex of the ferry ready to sail. No crew member tried or called for help and the ferry sailed away.
The crew member who is accused of pushing the victim into the sea and is facing charges of manslaughter with possible intent, allegedly took responsibility for what happened, but said he does not accept the “legal description” of the charge against him.
“He [the victim] stepped on the edge of the loading ramp. He and I slipped. He fell. I wanted to jump in and help, but the ship had already sailed away,” he allegedly stated in his testimony, adding that when he went to get a life jacket the man had already drowned.
PS PM Mitsotakis appointed ex EU Commissioner Christos Stylianidis as the new Shipping Minister. Stylianidis served as minister for Climate Change and Civil Protection in the previous Mitsotakis government (2019-2023) but was left out the cabinet after the July elections.
He is not considered as very successful if one takes into consideration the fires in Evia and Varibombi in 2021 as well as dealing with snowfalls and citizens trapped in snow even in central Athens.
Given his previous actions – mainly ‘evacuations’ but not preventive measures against natural disasters-, , I’m afraid Stylianidis will ban sailing when winds blow with over 3.5 Beaufort.