File photo.
New details are surfacing about the shipwreck of the Raptor freighter vessel, which sank off the coast of Lesvos on Sunday. With one confirmed fatality, one survivor, and 12 crew members still missing, indications point to the vessel being blacklisted by the Port State Control (PSC) regimes of the Paris MOU and the Black Sea MOU. This stems from the revelation two years ago that the crew’s documents were declared invalid, and false entries were found in the oil record book.
The latest finding suggests that the ship may have engaged in illegal, undeclared routes, possibly involved in smuggling. According to the same information, authorities’ suspicions are heightened by the fact that the rescued sailor informed Greek coastguard officials that the ship’s final destination was Ukraine, and Istanbul was a refueling stop.
These details are under scrutiny by authorities investigating the circumstances of the shipwreck. If proven, they may also be linked to the fact that, following the instructions of the shipowning company, the crew did not seek assistance on Saturday despite the ship showing signs of taking in water. Instead, they requested help just a few hours before the sinking on Sunday morning.
Additionally, it has been reported that the same shipping company owned the Manassa Rose, which sank in the bay of Kissamos, northwestern Crete, in January 2022. Back then authorities filed charges against crew members for causing a shipwreck and smuggling tobacco products.
