Four senior officials of the Hellenic Coast Guard, including its current commander, Vice Admiral Tryfon Kontizas, are to be prosecuted for their alleged role in the 2023 sinking of the fishing vessel Adriana, one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in recent European history.
The Adriana departed Libya on 10 June 2023, bound for Italy with an estimated 400 to 750 migrants on board. The overcrowded trawler entered Greece’s search and rescue zone on 13 June and was monitored by a Greek patrol vessel for about 15 hours near Pylos before it capsized and sank early on 14 June.
Only 104 passengers survived the disaster. Authorities recovered 82 bodies, while hundreds more are presumed dead. Survivors later claimed the vessel overturned when a Greek coastguard patrol boat attempted to tow it too quickly, destabilizing the already overloaded ship. Some alleged that officers later instructed them not to speak about the towing incident.
Greek officials have consistently denied any misconduct or failed rescue attempt, rejecting requests for an internal investigation. However, prosecutors at the Piraeus Naval Court determined earlier this year that the actions of the coastguard patrol crew could have breached maritime law.
Initially, charges were filed against 17 coastguard personnel, including the captain of the LS-920 patrol vessel, the former Hellenic Coast Guard chief Vice Admiral Giorgos Alexandrakis, and the national search and rescue center supervisor. Kontizas and three other senior officers were cleared of responsibility at that time—a decision made shortly after Kontizas assumed command.
Following an appeal by lawyers representing survivors and victims’ families, the naval appeal court has now ordered the inclusion of Kontizas and the three officers in the criminal proceedings. The charges include negligent manslaughter in international waters within Greece’s rescue zone, failure to rescue resulting in death, and repeated exposure to danger through omission of duty.
Greek authorities maintain that the coastguard has acted lawfully and emphasize that the country has rescued more than 250,000 people at sea over the past decade.
