Criminal complaints have been filed before the competent Public Prosecutors of Piraeus and of Bari, Italy, on behalf of rescued passengers and the families of missing passengers whom we are representing requesting criminal charges to be brought against the master and the first officer of the ship NORMAN ATLANTIC, as well as against the legal representatives and members the board of directors of the Italian shipping company VISEMAR DI NAVIGAZIONE SRL and the Consortium ANEK – SUPERFAST ENDEKA HELLAS INC. & Co. and against any other person that might be found responsible for the fire on board NORMAN ATLANTIC. The victims of the maritime disaster accuse the aforementioned persons as liable for breach of fundamental national, european and international regulations set for the safety of ships and passengers, including fire detection and extinguishing systems and equipment, fire safety measures, lifesaving equipment and procedures, crew training and capacity etc..
The technical investigation on the causes and circumstances of the accident has not yet started in Bari. The aft port of the ship has not yet been opened and entry is still not allowed to technical experts. There is no valid and verified information on passenger vehicles yet, neither for those that have most certainly been burnt and completely destroyed, nor for those located in the lower garages of the vessel, which, according to unofficial and unverified information, may not be a total loss. Unfortunately there are no further news in relation to the missing passengers. So far only two corpses have been recovered from the ship; the necessary tests are being conducted in hope that a positive identification is achieved, but still there are no results. We are monitoring this issue very closely.
