The ship ‘Artabro’ leaves the port of Vigo on May 17, with the mission on board to locate the ‘Villa de Pitanxo’.Javier Vázquez (Europa Press)
The Ciaim (Permanent Commission for the Investigation of Maritime Accidents and Incidents), attached to the Ministry of Transport, is already working to board in San Juan de Terranova (Canada) the personnel that the National Court orders to be part of the expedition that will try to arrive to the remains of the Galician fishing vessel Villa de Pitanxo, which sank on February 15, 2022 450 kilometers from the coast of the American country —a shipwreck that left 21 victims: nine sailors dead and twelve missing. These preparations have been launched after the expedition aboard the ship Artabro left the port of Vigo on May 17 without the authorization of Judge Ismael Moreno and without one of the experts who must prepare the report for the investigating magistrate. “We hope that the mission can be carried out as planned,” explains the secretary of Ciaim, Francisco Mata, this Wednesday to EL PAÍS.
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The last few days have become a real nightmare for the families of the victims, who fear that the defense “may question the results” of the expedition in the future. “We, more than anyone, want that ship to leave, but it has to be in compliance with all the guarantees so that no one questions the validity of this test later,” the spokesperson for the group, María José de Pazo, has come to affirm. The Artabro sailed without the approval of Judge Moreno, who is investigating the causes of the shipwreck and who has charged the boss of Villa de Pitanxo, Juan Padín, with 21 crimes of manslaughter for gross negligence and against the rights of workers.
The departure of the mission on May 17 therefore generated great discomfort. Not only among the families of the victims. But also in the magistrate himself, who on Monday signed a hard letter demanding explanations from Ciaim and the General Sub-directorate of Administration and Financial Management, both attached to the Ministry of Transport. The judge reproached that his orders had not been carried out; since, once the expedition was awarded to a company, it was up to him to set the dates of the work, as well as “the form and intervening experts”.
On Tuesday, the Deputy Director General of Administration and Financial Management, which reports directly to Transport, responded to the examining magistrate. He replied that they had “limited themselves” to administrative tasks to award the contract to the ACSM Ships company – the Artabro is part of their fleet – and that all decisions regarding the mission were made by Ciaim, an “independent” body that did not It works under the orders of the Ministry, despite being attached to it. As indicated in a letter, the Permanent Commission works on its own and, according to the law, cannot be given any type of indication: “Ciaim is responsible for preparing the technical specifications of the contract, the technical evaluation of the offers received, and especially, the execution of the contract”.
For his part, contacted by EL PAÍS, the secretary of Ciaim, Francisco Mata, stated this Wednesday that this body has “promptly attended to all the requirements that the court has addressed to us.” “the ship [Artabro] left Vigo in accordance with the terms of the contract signed between the shipowner and the ministry. For our part, right now we are coordinating the shipment in San Juan de Terranova of the personnel indicated by the court and we hope that the mission can be carried out as planned ”, he added.
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According to legal sources, in addition to the two experts appointed by the court, the families also want another designated by them to participate in the expedition.
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