NORMAN ATLANTIC: sentenza di condanna greca, Giustizia negata – Greece sentence, Justice is not served

Oggi è stata raggiunta una prima decisione di colpevolezza nel caso del disastro marittimo della nave NORMAN ATLANTIC, il processo penale in Grecia ha raggiunto un verdetto di primo grado ed il tribunale ellenico ha stabilito all’unanimità che cinque degli 11 imputati sono colpevoli e ha condannato il manager e CEO dell’ANEK ad un totale di 16 anni di reclusione ciascuno, e una condanna a 14 anni per l’equipaggio di ANEK a bordo della nave, 6 anni ed a 5 anni e 2 mesi rispettivamente ai due ufficiali di marina responsabili delle operazioni di carico.

E’ stata confermata la piena consapevolezza dei responsabili della compagnia ANEK sulle pratiche di carico dei mezzi e contrarie alle norme marittime, come consentire che i camion refrigerati mantenessero i motori a scoppio accesi anche durante la navigazione perché non era garantito a sufficienza l’allaccio alla rete elettrica della nave per tutti gli autotreni imbarcati in sovrannumero. Avrebbero potuto impedire l’evento e proteggere i passeggeri, ma non l’hanno fatto, continuando per anni a guadagnare senza riguardo alla sicurezza della vita umana.

Δίκη «Norman Atlantic»: 16 έτη φυλάκιση στους υπεύθυνους της ΑΝΕΚ

La Grecia sembra quindi aver battuto sul tempo i giudici italiani di Bari, dove pende il processo italiano per gli stessi fatti ma che è fermo ancora alle fase preliminari del dibattimento di primo grado, ma non sembra davvero che la legge ellenica abbia saputo fare Giustizia, anzi.

Il nuovo codice penale in Grecia, in vigore da luglio 2019, ha di fatto dimezzato le pene per questi reati, e prevede un massimo di 5 anni di reclusione per omicidio multiplo (prima erano fino a 10) ed il tribunale ha inflitto al presidente e all’amministratore delegato dell’ANEK pene di base di 3 anni per ogni morte e da 2 anni e 18 mesi rispettivamente per i reati di incendio doloso e disturbo del traffico marittimo. Il responsabile dell’ANEK a bordo 18 mesi di reclusione per ogni omicidio e due marinai rispettivamente di 18 mesi e un anno.

QUELLO CHE APPARE INACCETTABILE PER IL NOSTRO ORDINAMENTO E PER I FAMILIARI DELLE VITTIME è che la sentenza greca, con pene al carcere complessivamente fino a 16 anni, secondo la loro legge penale possa essere totalmente convertita in una multa/sanzione economica dagli imputati, che quindi sono stati condannati ma non sconteranno un solo giorno di carcere: 20 euro per ogni giorno di reclusione per il presidente e l’amministratore delegato della compagnia di navigazione, 10 euro al giorno per il responsabile dell’ANEK a bordo e 5 euro al giorno per i due marinai condannati. E la pena è sospesa fino al secondo grado (come avviene anche in Italia).

Ciò significa che l’intera misura della pena detentiva sarà convertita nel pagamento di una multa, una condanna economica; gli imputati, giudicati responsabili della morte di 10 persone a bordo e 19 dispersi a mare, nel disastro avvenuto a causa della grave violazione delle norme di prudenza e del diritto marittimo, non sconteranno in Grecia neanche un giorno di prigione, con una sentenza solo sulla carta a 16 anni.

Infatti a causa del nuovo codice penale greco, tutte le pene sono ricondotte al limite massimo previsto attualmente dalla legge ellenica in caso di omicidio colposo plurimo, ossia 5 anni.

Noi avvocati e cittadini italiani dovremo svolgere molte riflessioni sul significato e la portata della sentenza greca che, in ogni caso, riguarda solo minimamente gli imputati nel processo italiano sul naufragio del NORMAN ATLANTIC, ma una cosa è certa, i passeggeri che si sono costituiti parte civile nel processo penale italiano, di cui la maggior parte sono di nazionalità greca, possono contare nel nostro paese su una macchina della giustizia sicuramente più lenta e complicata, ma certamente più rigorosa. In Grecia non si può dire moralmente che Giustizia è stata fatta.

Il nostro ordinamento penale non permette di cavarsela così facilmente con la conversione in denaro di una pena detentiva così importante; in Italia per condanne superiori a 4 anni si va in carcere, così come nel caso della condanna a 16 anni che il comandante Schettino sta in galera da circa 3 anni per il disastro della Concordia.

Visto che il nuovo codice penale greco ha dimezzato le pene e consente di convertire le condanne detentive in una somma di danaro, 20 euro al giorno una condanna a 16 anni per la morte di 10 persone e 19 dispersi, si trasforma comodamente (16 anni -> 5844 giorni x 20 euro) in 116.880 euro e zero giorni di carcere, mentre con la riduzione a 5 anni la somma scende a 36.500 euro.

Ci lamentiamo spesso della legge penale italiana, ma questa roba qui per un avvocato delle vittime dei disastri è davvero una sentenza sconvolgente, non si tratta di giustizialismo, ma di fronte ad omicidi plurimi e la prova raggiunta su una pratica aziendale votata alla massimizzazione dei profitti, convertire 16 anni di carcere in una multa a 20 euro al giorno, vuol dire negare ai familiari delle vittime una condanna anche solo morale: e come sempre diciamo non c’è pace senza Giustizia.

<p class="has-drop-cap" value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">Today a first guilty decision was reached in the case of the NORMAN ATLANTIC maritime disaster, as the criminal trial in Greece reached a first instance verdict and the Greek court unanimously ruled that five of the 11 defendants are guilty and sentenced the manager and CEO of ANEK to a total of 16 years in prison each, and a sentence of 14 years for ANEK's crew on board the ship, 6 years and 5 years and 2 months respectively to the two naval officers responsible of loading operations.Today a first guilty decision was reached in the case of the NORMAN ATLANTIC maritime disaster, as the criminal trial in Greece reached a first instance verdict and the Greek court unanimously ruled that five of the 11 defendants are guilty and sentenced the manager and CEO of ANEK to a total of 16 years in prison each, and a sentence of 14 years for ANEK’s crew on board the ship, 6 years and 5 years and 2 months respectively to the two naval officers responsible of loading operations.

The full awareness of the managers of the ANEK company on the loading practices of the vehicles and contrary to maritime regulations, such as allowing the refrigerated trucks to keep the internal combustion engines running even during navigation, was confirmed because of lack of the connection to the the ship’s electrical network for all excessively loaded trucks. They could have prevented the event and protect the passengers, but they did not, continuing to earn money for years regardless of the safety of human life.

Δίκη «Norman Atlantic»: 16 έτη φυλάκιση στους υπεύθυνους της ΑΝΕΚ

Greece therefore seems to have beaten the Italian judges of Bari on time, where the Italian trial is pending for the same facts and is still at the preliminary stage of the first instance trial, but it does not really seem that Hellenic law has been able to do justice, rather.

The new criminal code in Greece, in force since July 2019, has effectively halved the penalties for these crimes, and provides for a maximum of 5 years of imprisonment for multiple homicides (previously up to 10) and the court has imposed on the president and to the CEO of ANEK basic penalties of 3 years for each death and 2 years and 18 months respectively for the offenses of arson and disturbance of maritime traffic. The ANEK manager on board 18 months’ imprisonment for each murder and two sailors of 18 months and one year respectively.

WHAT APPEARS UNACCEPTABLE FOR OUR LEGAL SYSTEM AND FOR THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS is that the Greek sentence, with a total prison sentence of up to 16 years, according to their criminal law can be totally converted into a fine / economic sanction by the defendants, which therefore were sentenced but will not serve a single day in prison: € 20 for each day of imprisonment for the president and CEO of the shipping company, € 10 per day for the ANEK manager on board and € 5 per day for the two condemned sailors. And the sentence is suspended up to the second degree (as is also the case in Italy).

This means that the entire measure of the prison sentence will be converted into the payment of a fine, an economic sentence; the defendants, found responsible for the deaths of 10 people on board and 19 missing at sea, in the disaster that occurred due to the serious violation of the rules of prudence and maritime law, will not serve even a day in prison in Greece, with a sentence only on card to 16 years.

In fact, due to the new Greek penal code, all penalties are reduced to the maximum limit set now by the Hellenic law in case of multiple manslaughter, i.e. 5 years.

We Italian lawyers and citizens will have to carry out many reflections on the meaning and scope of the Greek sentence which, in any case, only minimally concerns the defendants in the Italian trial on the sinking of the NORMAN ATLANTIC, but one thing is certain, the passengers who filed as civil parties in the Italian criminal trial, most of which are of Greek nationality, in our country can count on a system of justice that is certainly slower and more complicated, but for sure also more rigorous. In Greece one cannot morally say that Justice has been served.

Our criminal legal system does not allow them defendants to get away so easily with the conversion of such an important prison sentence into money; in Italy for sentences of over 4 years you go to prison, as well as in the case of the 16-year sentence that captain Schettino has been serving in prison for about 3 years now, for the Concordia disaster.

Given that the new Greek penal code has halved the sentences and allows prison convictions to be converted into a sum of money, 20 euros a day on a 16-year sentence for the death of 10 people and 19 missing, it is easily transformed (16 years > 5,844 days x 20 euros = 116,880 euros) and zero days in prison, while with the reduction to 5 years the sum drops to 36,500 euros.

We often complain about Italian criminal law, but this stuff here for a mass disaster victim’s lawyer is really a shocking sentence, it is not about justicialism, but facing multiple homicides and the proof achieved on a corporate practice devoted to maximizing profits , converting 16 years of prison into a fine of 20 euros a day, means denying the families of the victims even for a moral sentence: and as we always say there is no peace without justice.

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Udienza 14.10.2020 – second hearing in the criminal trial after the Covid-19 stop

The Bitonto bunker hall courtroom in session

__________ENGLISH ___________

On 14.10.2020 in front of the Criminal Court of Bari in Collegial composition, chaired by Dr. Guida, was held the second hearing in the criminal trial for the disaster in the Norman Atlantic fire, which occurred in international waters in December 2014 between Italy and Greece.

In order to guarantee the social distancing between the parties due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the hearing was held as always in the Bitonto bunker hall, but distributing the judges, prosecutors, defenders of the accused and civil party lawyers, in three different rooms in the building, video connected to each other, and everything was done efficiently and well organized.

Our legal team, representing a large number of ferry passengers and relatives of victims and missing persons, participated from the very early stages at the criminal proceedings, having already constituted the clients as an offended party in the investigation and in the evidentiary incident, i.e. during the long phase of the preliminary assessment carried out by the court onboard the Norman Atlantic wreck by request of Bari public prosecutor’s office, then formally constituting ourselves as a civil party at the preliminary hearing on behalf of all our clients, proposing compensation requests to the court there, by transferring the action that we had already proposed to the civil court within two years of the accident.

The preliminary hearing phase ended positively with the indictment of all the defendants, and we therefore moved on to the opening phase of the actual trial, slowed down in February last year and then suspended due to the Covid-19 epidemic which also affected all procedural and judicial activities, but finally at this hearing we resumed activities by addressing the first formal issues, which essentially concerned the preliminary objections raised by the defendants against our appearance in court and participation in the trial as civil parties, and the request for expulsion proposed by the 4 companies that we have called for damages in their quality for civil liability, in this case Visemar transport, Visemar of navigation, Visentini shipyards and, of course, the Greek carrier ANEK SA.

These requests, based on the alleged application of EC Regulation 392 and of the Athens Convention and of the short two-year forfeiture period envisaged therein, as a restriction on the criminal laws and on the normal limitation and forfeiture periods, are already been proposed in front of the Judge of the hearing preliminary, and rejected by this with a very articulated ordinance, which clarified how the scope of application of the European regulation cannot in any way entail a compression of the constitutional rights of the injured party, limiting the possibility of appear, restricted on excessively narrow and rigorous terms, as a civil party affecting the right to participate in the criminal trial, and file for compensation for all damages suffered.

The court allowed all the defendants lawyers and civil liability companies to illustrate their objections and various requests, and then gave the turn to the Public Prosecutor, who laudably supported the offended parties and argued widely in favor of their legitimate right to participate in this trial, to then allow a round of replies to the civil parties lawyers.

From our side, we insisted on the rejection of all requests proposed by the defendants’ lawyers, arguing in a synthetic but very direct way on the various specific objections raised against us, in the certainty that once again, as already happened in the civil trial and then in the preliminary stage of this criminal trial, all matters will be rejected by the court in a favorable sense for passengers.

At the end of the hearing, which was closed around 3.00 pm, the court reserved the right to decide by order at the next hearing on the issues relating to the constitutions of civil parties, postponing for the continuation to 11th of November 2020, to address the other preliminary issues that as expected will concern the exceptions of territorial jurisdiction, and those concerning the cd. bis in idem and the conflict of jurisdiction between the Italian criminal trial and the one that is taking place in Greece.

In this regard, we are also following in parallel what happens in the Greek criminal trial, and we reserve the right to deal with the issues when they will be raised by the defendants, anticipating however that we believe that the problem of the overlap between the two judgments does not exist, having also been this question addressed, and positively resolved in favor of the jurisdiction of the Italian judges, by the GIP dott. Agnino during the preliminary hearing that ended last year.

Starting from the next hearing, the real indictment process will begin, establishing a schedule that will finally give a decisive acceleration to the trial, starting with the depositions of witnesses and consultants of the public prosecution office.

______________ ITALIANO ____________

Il 14.10.2020 innanzi al tribunale penale di Bari in composizione Collegiale, presieduto dal Dott. Guida, si è celebrata la seconda udienza nel processo penale dibattimentale per il disastro nell’incendio del Norman Atlantic, avvenuto in acque internazionali nel dicembre 2014 tra Italia e Grecia.

Al fine di garantire il distanziamento sociale tra le parti per via delle restrizioni Covid-19, l’udienza si è svolta sempre nell’aula bunker di Bitonto, ma distribuendo i giudici, pubblici ministeri, difensori degli imputati ed avvocati di parte civile, in tre diverse aule dell’edificio videocollegate tra esse, e tutto si è svolto in modo efficiente e ben organizzato.

Il nostro team legale, in rappresentanza di un largo numero di passeggeri del traghetto e di familiari di vittime e dispersi, ha partecipato sin dalle primissime fasi al procedimento penale, essendoci costituiti come parte offesa già nelle indagini e nell’incidente probatorio, ossia durante la lunga fase della perizia preliminare svolta dal tribunale a bordo del relitto su richiesta dell’ufficio della Procura di Bari, costituendoci poi formalmente come parte civile alla udienza preliminare per conto di tutti i nostri assistiti, proponendo in quella sede le richieste risarcitorie al tribunale, e trasferendo in sede penale l’azione che avevamo già proposto in sede civile entro il biennio dall’incidente.

La fase della udienza preliminare si è chiusa positivamente con il rinvio a giudizio di tutti gli imputati, e siamo dunque passati nella fase di apertura del processo vero e proprio, rallentato a febbraio dell’anno scorso e poi sospeso a causa dell’epidemia Covid-19 che ha interessato anche l’attività processuale e giudiziaria, ma finalmente alla udienza di oggi abbiamo ripreso le attività affrontando le prime questioni formali, che riguardano essenzialmente le eccezioni preliminari sollevate dai difensori degli imputati nei confronti della nostra costituzione in giudizio e partecipazione al processo come parti civili, e la richiesta di estromissione proposto dalle 4 società che abbiamo chiamato a rispondere dei danni nella loro qualità di responsabili civili, nella fattispecie Visemar trasporti, Visemar di navigazione, cantieri navali Visentini e, ovviamente, il vettore greco ANEK SA. Tali richieste, fondate sulla pretesa applicazione del regolamento CE 392 e della convenzione di Atene e del termine breve di decadenza biennale ivi previsto in prevalenza sulle norme penali e sui normali termini di prescrizione e di decadenza, sono state già proposte davanti al Giudice dell’udienza preliminare, e da questo rigettate con una ordinanza molto articolata, che ha chiarito quanto l’ambito di applicazione del regolamento europeo non possa in alcun modo comportare una compressione dei diritti costituzionali della parte offesa, limitandone in un termine eccessivamente ristretto e rigoroso la possibilità di costituirsi come parte civile e il diritto di partecipare al processo penale, chiedendo in quella sede il risarcimento di tutti i danni subiti.

Il tribunale ha consentito a tutti i difensori degli imputati e delle società responsabili civili di illustrare le loro eccezioni e le varie richieste, per poi dare la parola al Pubblico Ministero, che ha lodevolmente sostenuto le parti offese e argomentato ampiamente a favore del loro legittimo diritto a partecipare a questo processo, per poi consentire un giro di repliche alle parti civili.

Da parte nostra abbiamo insistito per il rigetto di tutte richieste riproposte dalle difese degli imputati argomentando in modo sintetico, ma molto diretto, sulle varie specifiche eccezioni sollevate nei nostri confronti, nella certezza che ancora una volta, come già avvenuto in sede civile e poi nella fase preliminare di questo processo penale, tutte le questioni vengano superate dal tribunale in senso favorevole ai passeggeri.

Il tribunale al termine della udienza, che è stata chiusa verso le ore 15,00, si è riservato di decidere con ordinanza alla prossima udienza sulle questioni inerenti le costituzioni di parte civile, rinviando per il prosieguo al giorno 11 novembre 2020, per affrontare le altre questioni preliminari che si prevedono riguarderanno le eccezioni di competenza territoriale, e quelle riguardanti il cd. bis in idem ed il conflitto di giurisdizione tra processo penale italiano e quello che si sta celebrando in Grecia.

A questo proposito stiamo seguendo parallelamente anche quanto avviene nel processo penale greco, ed ci riserviamo di trattare le questioni nel momento in cui verranno eccepite dai difensori degli imputati, anticipando tuttavia che riteniamo insussistente il problema della sovrapposizione tra i due giudizi, essendo stata peraltro anche tale questione affrontata, e risolta positivamente, a favore della giurisdizione dei giudici italiani, dal GIP dott. Agnino durante l’udienza preliminare terminata l’anno scorso.

A partire dalla udienza successiva si entrerà nel vivo del processo, stabilendo un calendario che darà finalmente una decisiva accelerazione al processo, dando il via alle deposizioni di testi e consulenti della pubblica accusa.

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PLAY AUDIO

Estratto audio della udienza, replica alle eccezioni delle difese degli imputati sulle costituzioni di parte civile

Seconda udienza preliminare 21.05.2019 – ammesse tutte le parti civili nel processo Norman Atlantic

TGR 21 maggio 2019 – Norman Atlantic, parenti vittime e sopravvissuti ammessi al processo penale

Dear Clients, on Tuesday May 21 2019 the second preliminary hearing of the criminal trial on the Norman Atlantic disaster was held in the Bitonto bunker hearingroom.

Let’s start by saying that ALL our clients were admitted as a civil party, and that this important result was by no means obvious or automatic or simple to obtain.

In fact, in the time from the previous hearing, in which we filed our request for the appearance in court, and this last hearing, the judge had assigned to the defendants an intermediate term for the filing of written memoirs with which to illustrate their exceptions and objections to the request to enter the process by passengers and family members, but also organizations and associations. Well, we can say that surely the lawyers (of Anek above all), have not been spared at all (and it must be said that they could also have done it with greater esteem and respect for the victims, as for example Costa Crociere did in the process on the sinking of the Concordia, which raised formal exceptions only against the cities and associations but not also about the constitution of a civil part of the passengers), but on the contrary they have once again (as in the civil trial) put into play every possible and imaginable procedural question, constraint of national and community legislation and of captious exception to try to prevent at any cost the request of the victims to participate in the criminal trial as parties in all aspects, and not only as spectators. Constituting as a civil party, in fact, allows the injured party from a committed crime, in addition to making a request to the judge for compensation on their damage suffered in relation to such conduct, but also play an important role as a private prosecution alongside the public one, exercised by the public prosecutor’s office, in the common search for truth and justice through the conviction of all those responsible for the disaster. Needless to say, the army of defendants’ lawyers would have preferred to have the trial without our unfriendly presence in the courtroom, and already the first heated controversy took place in the courtroom among lawyers, in a clearly nervousness due to the gravity of the charges, on one side, and the delicacy of the positions and the compensatory values ​​requested on behalf of the clients, on the other.

In their memoirs and subsequent discussion in the hearing room, the defenders of the Greek shipowner, but not only them, tried to enforce the rules of Reg. (EC) 392/2009 in the criminal trial which, as you now by know, provides (art 16, point 3 of the Athens Convention) a two-year preclusional term, which led us prudently to initiate a civil lawsuit in Bari in December 2016, thus claiming, in a very insidious way, that today it would not be possible for us to validly transfer the compensation action from the civil to the criminal trial, due to some alleged forfeiture and other (alleged) defects matured during the civil trial. Nevertheless the defendants’ defenses claimed that the nature and legitimacy of the requests was not adequately demonstrated and documented.

Norman Atlantic: a maggio l’udienza preliminare – first hearing in may

Il decreto di fissazione udienza GUP

Come avevamo anticipato a fine dicembre, è stata finalmente firmata la richiesta di rinvio a giudizio e fissata la prima serie di udienze preliminari nell’aula bunker di Bitonto: si parte dal 06 maggio 2019 ed è stato fissato un primo calendario di udienze; assieme al decreto di fissazione udienza GUP è stato notificata anche la richiesta di rinvio a giudizio da parte della procura di Bari, e le novità, rispetto alla prima formulazione dei capi di imputazione all’epoca delle indagini preliminari e dell’incidente probatorio, sono decisamente molte, oltre che nell’elenco di soggetti imputati, notevolmente aumentato comprendendo oggi nei 32 soggetti una buona parte dell’equipaggio, anche nei capi di imputazione, che alla luce dei risultati della perizia e degli accertamenti tecnico-scientifici, è stato ampiato e dettagliato in modo estremamente rigoroso e giuridicamente articolato.

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As we anticipated at the end of December, the request for indictment was finally signed by the P.P.’s and the first series of preliminary hearings is being set up in Bitonto bunkering room: starting from May 6th, a first calendar of hearings is already set; together with the decree of the GUP hearing, the request for prosecution by the Bari PP’s office was also notified, and the news, compared to the first formulation of the indictments at the time of the preliminary investigations and the probationary incident, are decidedly many, and beyond that in the list of subjects accused, greatly increased comprising today in the 32 subjects a good part of the crew, but also in the counts of imputation, that in light of the results of the appraisal and the technical-scientific investigations, it is detailed in an extremely rigorous and juridically articulated manner.

Norman Atlantic: criminal trial starts 4 years from the disaster

At exactly 4 years from the fire and shipwreck of the Norman Atlantic, here it comes the official news that the Prosecutor’s office of Bari has finally requested the indictment for the 32 suspects (30 individuals and two companies) accused of the disaster occurred off the Albanian coast in the night between 27 and 28 December 2014, which caused 31 victims, including 12 confirmed deaths and 19 bodies never found, and the serious injury of 64 of the approximately 500 passengers, all remained on board in stormy sea for two days and beyond, and that even today they have not overcome the trauma of that terrible experience.

No fire alarm was issued, no warning from the crew, and the passengers awoke at night between coulters of smoke and panic scenes. A panic which released – in many – the worst in human race. The first to abandon ship were some of the crew, dropping quickly the only usable lifeboat, with just a third of its precious capacity of persons. During the retrieve of the passengers using the baskets lowered from helicopters, others have literally attacked the rescuers, with bites and punches, just to be saved first, others refused to leave priority to women and children. Some people threw himself into the water to escape the flames, and was quickly swallowed by the waves of the icy December sea.

The news of the signing of the request for judgment had been circulating for some weeks now, but reaching the 4th anniversary, it comes an official confirmation that the prosecutors have requested the criminal trial for the legal representative of Visemar, the company that owns the ferry, Carlo Visentini, the two legal representatives of the Greek Anek Lines, charterer of the ship, the commander Argilio Giacomazzi and 26 members of the crew. After confirming the serious responsibilities and negligence that emerged in the probationary phase, the suspects are accused, for various reasons, of crimes of negligent cooperation in shipwreck, culpable homicide and multiple culpable injuries in addition to numerous violations on safety and the navigation code.

The date of the first hearing with the judge of the preliminary hearing has not yet been set, but we already know that – in order to overcome the logistical difficulties of the court of Bari – the Bitonto bunker room was again made available, in which we will stand for this part of the criminal trial.

Our team “Giustizia per Norman Atlantic” has represented so far about fifty people whose lives were devastated in various ways in the shipping incident, as passengers or as family members of victims or missing, and for many of those we lauched the multi-milion civil case running in Bari, that lately moved a further step in extending the compensation responsabilities to another company of Visemar Group.

For many others, forced by the long waiting and personal difficulties, we were asked to negotiate and close their case with a transaction, but now with the criminal trial pending we are confident that justice will soon be brought to all, even for those that couldn’t wait for a judicial and more fair compensation. New clients have recently joined, to overcome the lack of results they faced in other countries and different strategies.

But for all passengers, more and beyond an economic compensation, the first right to justice is that those who have made so many mistakes will pay with years in prison and companies will be punished with heavy punitive damages, so that this tragedy will prevent the recurrence of disasters in the world of navigation by ferries

The 2019 will now be the year of the Norman Atlantic trial, and we will ensure to make it as productive and effective as possible.

Green light for the NORMAN ATLANTIC’s Civil case in Bari

The civil Court of Bari

Following the last hearing in the NORMAN ATLANTIC’s civil case running in the court of Bari, the judge had kept the file in reserve on the many exceptions raised by the counterpart lawyers to support the ineffectiveness and illegitimacy of the notifications and of the whole trial action; on the contrary, by order of the judge dott.ssa SIMONE RAFFAELLA, the Court has instead decided to proceed further in the case and has accepted our request to extend the claim for 26 million euro against VISEMAR COSTRUZIONI, owner of the “naked” hull of the Norman Atlantic ship, then leased to Visemar Navigazione and in turn from this rented to the Greek company ANEK AE. Following the summons for the third party’s call in the trial, the first company will then be jointly held with the others to pay all damages to passengers.

The next hearing of the trial is scheduled for 03/28/2019 09:30 AM FOR THE CALL OF THE THIRD COMPANY.

In the meantime, the criminal trial – passed the phase of the probative incident that has verified the presence of serious responsibilities and malfunctions as with the expert report ordered by the preliminary investigation judge – is undergoing a decisive delay in the start of the trial phase due to structural problems in the court of justice building of Bari; in fact, starting from the end of July, is being declared the stop of all criminal cases with not a few organizational problems for the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is now without a proper building to celebrate the trials.

We will keep you up-to-date on upcoming developments in civil hearings and criminal cases.

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LUCE VERDE PER IL PROCESSO CIVILE A BARI

A seguito della ultima udienza nella causa civile sul naufragio della NORMAN ATLANTIC presso il tribunale di Bari, il giudice aveva trattenuto il fascicolo in riserva sulle molte eccezioni sollevate dai legali di controparte per sostenere la nullità delle notifiche e della azione processuale; al contrario con ordinanza del giudice dott.ssa SIMONE RAFFAELLA, il Tribunale ha invece disposto procedersi oltre nel processo ed ha accolto la ns richiesta di estendere la domanda risarcitoria per 26 milioni di euro circa nei confronti della VISEMAR COSTRUZIONI, proprietaria dello scafo “nudo” della m/n Norman Atlantic, poi concessa in locazione a Visemar Navigazione e a sua volta da questa noleggiata alla compagnia greca ANEK AE. A seguito della citazione per la chiamata del terzo nel processo, anche la prima società sarà quindi tenuta in solido con le altre al risarcimento dei danni a favore dei passeggeri.

La prossima udienza per la prosecuzione del giudizio è fissata al 28/03/2019 09:30 PER CHIAMATA DEL TERZO.

Nel frattempo il giudizio penale – superata la fase dell’incidente probatorio che ha accertato la presenza di gravi responsabilità e malfunzionamenti con la perizia disposta dal giudice delle indagini preliminari – sta subendo un deciso ritardo nell’avvio della fase dibattimentale a causa dei problemi strutturali nel palazzo di giustizia di Bari; di fatto a partire da fine luglioo’è stato lo stop di tutte le cause penali e non pochi problemi organizzativi per la Procura, che si ritrova senza aule per celebrare i processi. Vi terremo aggiornati a breve sui prossimi sviluppi delle udienze civili e della causa penale.

The investigation phase has been closed; Norman Atlantic approaches the criminal trial

A big step towards the criminal trial that will bring finally light and justice to the Norman Atlantic marittime disaster; great satisfaction from our legal team, not only because we are approaching the trial, but also because the Public Prosecutor has clearly listened to the complaints of our clients, adding to the accused list all the crew members who did not provide the necessary assistance to passengers. There was no loading plan for the heavy trucks, and the fire started to develop from one of the refrigerated trucks, because there were not enough power outlets and the truck drivers kept their engines running to cool the goods. A hypothesis that had already made its way in the days following the fire, as a malpractice prohibited by navigation regulations. And there were other and numerous negligence, both in the risk assessment and during the evacuation, with extreme disorganization and several crew members who left the ship way before the passengers were safe. Now the Bari prosecutor, after 3 years close investigations, adding all the crew members to the accused, mainly for our multiple reports of severe complaints from our clients for abandonment of the ship; 30 people and two companies, Visemar and Anek Lines, now face the criminale trial for the shipwreck of the Norman Atlantic ferry, which took place off the Albanian coast on the night of December 28 2014 after a fire broke out on board that cost the lives of 31 people, including some Syrian migrants, even minors, and the wounding of others 64.

All the subjects under investigation are liable for involuntary cooperation in shipwreck, culpable homicide and multiple culpable injuries. Numerous violations on security and the navigation code are also contested. To the original 18 people already in the file of the p.p’s office of Bari, Ettore Cardinali and Federico Perrone Capano, they added others 12: they are the legal representative of Visemar, society owner of the ferry, Carlo Visentini, the two legal representatives of the Greek Anek Lines, charterer of the Norman Atlantic, in addition to the commander Argilio Giacomazzi and 26 crew members. 6 of them also contend that they had left the ship avoiding to help passengers way before they were safe. A series of negligences emerged in the expert’s report of the Port Authority of Bari, above all on the assessment of the risks and on the organization of the operations of evacuation of the ship, which would have caused the shipwreck and the death of some passengers. About the causes of the shipwreck we already ran trough a probationary incident phase that lasted about two years with numerous accesses aboard the wreck, moored since February 2015 in the port of Bari, and still subjected to seizure.

The experts report about a ineffective firefighting system and unprepared crew. The fire supposedly started from a refrigerated truck running a diesel engine during navigation. Furthermore, according to the accusatory hypothesis, a plan to load the 128 TIR on board (of which about 60 refrigerators) was missing, arranged on the bridges in an approximate manner, without respecting the distance between the vehicles and the availability of elettric power, forcing hauliers to keep the engines running. And both the captain and carrier companies were full aware of this malpractice. We are also waiting to call accusation about the reason why the captain and the shipping companies have decided to prevent the intervention of the Albanian tugs to wait the arrival from Bari of the rescue, forcing the passengers to fear for their life two day on a ship adrift in flames and in the stormy sea.

In the next few weeks we will update all our clients with more detail on the following steps, about the civil case running in Bari, relations between civil and criminal proceedings, and strategies of our team in order to bring justice and compensation to all.

Two years from the Norman Atlantic tragedy – Due anni dalla tragedia Norman Atlantic

Exactly two years ago, on December the 28^th 2014, the NORMAN ATLANTIC ferry, property of the Italian shipowner VISEMAR and rented by the Greek company ANEK LINES, departed from Greece and directed to Ancona, caught fire in the middle of the night off the Albanian coast, and in short time went drifting off the Adriatic sea, in a storm of six meters waves and force 8 wind, with almost 500 people on board and overrun with cars, trucks and Tir carrying goods from Greece to Italy, especially olive oil, which would then fuel the flames for days. The origins of the fire are still under investigation, via a procedure of recording evidence that, as required by the Public Prosecutor of Bari, will have to verify not only the evolution of the shipping incident, but also, and above all, the possible Crew responsibilities in emergency management on board, and the companies ones for malfunctions, as it seemed clear from the start, that the latter turned the fire – started from the deck 4 of the ship, in a real holocaust for dozens of people, 10 dead and over 19 missing, imprisoning the rest of the survivors on the top and outside deck of the ship, drifting inexorably and internally devoured by flames, and to be recovered only by helicopter and transferred one by one. A difficult rescue operation because of adverse weather and sea conditions, and that, despite having involved over 20 merchant and naval ships of different nationalities and several rescue helicopters, lasted for more than two days – an infinite time for those caught between the grip of toxic smokes, flames, incandescent floors and the icy cold of the water jets – sprayed continuously by emergency ships. The very few who managed to take their seats on lifeboats or reach the floating boat dropped overboard, lived an experience of terror and horror, even worse than those who remained trapped on the burning ferry.

No fire alarm was issued, no warning from the crew, and the passengers awoke at night between coulters of smoke and panic scenes. A panic which released – in many – the worst in human race. The first to abandon ship were some of the crew, dropping quickly the only usable lifeboat, with just a third of its precious capacity of persons. During the retrieve of the passengers using the baskets lowered from helicopters, others have literally attacked the rescuers, with bites and punches, just to be saved first, others refused to leave priority to women and children. Some people threw himself into the water to escape the flames, and was quickly swallowed by the waves of the icy December sea. Some bodies of drowned victims were found after days, torn apart by evident shark bites. Nearly twenty people are missing, but the count of those missing is certainly more serious, considering the presence on board of many illegal immigrants.

In the tragedy – however – there were also scenes of altruism and heroism, as in the case of the Orthodox priest who generously helped many shipwrecked persons to climb the dangerous rope ladder thrown by the rescue ship to the lifeboat on which they stood, leaving the way to all families before falling into the sea and get lost forever; or the greek doctor, who still works in Italy, which remained on board the ferry up until the end, providing his assistance to fellow sufferers, or like some truck drivers who, at great personal risk, managed to hook the towing tugs cable to the Norman Atlantic.

A horror lived in long and intense measure, in extreme psychophysical and weather conditions, which left indelible marks inside all people escaped from death, diagnosed in terms of “post-traumatic stress disorder“, studied for the first time in World War I and Vietnam veterans, and then ascertained as a psychological pathology, typical of disaster survivors, as in the case of the collapse of the twin towers.

After two years we are still waiting for the closing stage of the preliminary investigation by the magistracy and experts appointed by the Criminal Court of Bari. A report that will hopefully shed some light on the many shadows that since the beginning we have emphasized, with regard to ship-owners, the carrier, crew, those who certified the ship but also – and above all – in the maritime great transportation system, where the law of profit – too often – seems to prevail over the safety rules and accident prevention.

Our team “Giustizia per Norman Atlantic” has represented so far about fifty people whose lives were devastated in various ways in the shipping incident, as passengers or as family members of victims or missing. Since the early days we were involved because of our experience in maritime disasters such as the sinking of the “Concordia” and “Jolly Nero“, and directly in the forefront we have provided (in person) assistance for immediate needs and to return home several families, support in the investigations on the DNA for the possible identification of missing persons, aid for the recover of the vehicles following the withdrawal of the vessel seizure (a year and a half after the accident), and then starting – on one hand – filing about 50 complaints and an intense work of investigations in the criminal proceedings – through our consultants and accessing the ship, and – on the other side – opening the negotiations with Anek & Visemar lawyers, in order to achieve a fair and honorable compensation in favor of our clients.

APERTO IL PORTELLONE DEL NORMAN ATLANTIC

Il portellone della Norman Atlantic è stato finalmente aperto, dopo oltre cinque mesi dal naufragio che causò la morte di 11 persone (18 passeggeri ufficialmente ancora dispersi), in funzione delle attività tecniche disposte dal GIP di Bari nell’ambito dell’incidente probatorio per stabilire le cause dell’incendio ed i malfunzionamenti che hanno provocato il naufragio del traghetto al largo delle coste albanesi.

Le operazioni di apertura dell’accesso automezzi alla nave, ormeggiata davanti al terminal crociere del porto di Bari, erano iniziate la scorsa settimana, coinvolgendo i tecnici, Vigili del Fuoco, Capitaneria di Porto, Guardia di Finanza e Polizia, ed hanno comportato il taglio con la fiamma ossidrica dei pistoni del portellone, praticamente fusi dal calore, calandolo lentamente attraverso due enormi gru.

Dall’esterno sono visibili le carcasse di TIR, Pullman ed autovetture completamente bruciate, parcheggiati sul ponte che per primo sembra essere andato a fuoco. Si vedono chiaramente le strutture in ferro della nave bruciate e in parte crollate, mezzi pesanti ed auto totalmente distrutti, anche se risulta che ai ponti 1 e 2 il carico ed i mezzi siano rimasti praticamente intatti (ma non è affatto detto che siano recuperabili, a causa della intensa esposizione a calore, fumo ed acqua del sistema drenching).

Una volta aperta la poppa della nave, saranno prelevati campioni dei liquidi che si trovano all’interno del ponte perchè vengano analizzati dall’Arpa che dovrà dare indicazioni per lo smaltimento, al fine di evitare eventuali danni ambientali, ed a partire dall’11 giugno si procederà poi allo svuotamento (tecnicamente chiamato ‘smassamentò) del relitto e i tecnici nominati dal gip nell’ambito dell’incidente probatorio saliranno a bordo, dando inizio alle operazioni di perizia vera e propria. Il nostro pool di avvocati sarà presente per rappresentare le parti offese, affiancato dal consulente Prof. Antonio Scamardella, ingegnere navale della università di Napoli. Le attività tecniche si concluderanno entro i prossimi sei mesi, e si presume che durante questo periodo possano essere rinvenuti a bordo altri resti umani appartenuti ai molti dispersi ed al numero ancora imprecisato di clandestini che, si sa per dato praticamente certo, erano presenti nei locali garage durante l’incidente..

A seguito dei primi sopralluoghi da parte dei periti, si procederà quindi al progressivo scarico degli automezzi e dei container, anche al fine della messa in sicurezza e smaltimento del relitto, e possibile restituzione di quanto non distrutto dal fuoco agli aventi diritto. A bordo del traghetto, oltre alle autovetture, viaggiavano moltissimi mezzi pesanti per trasporto di generi alimentari, come pesce, olio di oliva etc..

Vedi il VIDEO del servizio del TG1: DENTRO LA NORMAN ATLANTIC

NORMAN ATLANTIC ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ

Οι ανακριτικές διαδικασίες που αφορούν το τραγικό ναυάγιο του Norman Atlantic εισέρχονται πλέον, μετά από αρκετούς μήνες και χάρη στην πίεση που ασκήθηκε τόσο από τους πληρεξουσίους δικηγόρους θυμάτων και επιβατών όσο και από τον Ιταλικό τύπο (με σειρά επικριτικών δημοσιευμάτων), σε ουσιαστική και κρίσιμη για ην εξέλιξη της όλης διαδικασίας φάση.

Συγκεκριμένα όπως προκύπτει από το υπ. αριθ. 20598/14 έγγραφο του Δικαστηρίου του Bari (Τμήμα Προκαταρκτικής Έρευνας) εκδόθηκε ήδη και κοινοποιείται σε όλα τα εμπλεκόμενα μέρη (κατηγορούμενοι , μηνυτές κλπ.) ειδοποίηση για τη διεξαγωγή αποδεικτικής διαδικασίας/πραγματογνωμοσύνης για το πλοίο Norman Atlantic.

Συγκεκριμένα, η Δικαστής  Alessandra Piliego του Δικαστηρίου του Μπάρι, έχοντας λάβει το αίτημα του Εισαγγελέα προς διεξαγωγή πραγματογνωμοσύνης με σκοπό τη διερεύνηση της λειτουργικότητας του εξοπλισμού του πλοίου, τη συμμόρφωση με τους κανονισμούς ασφαλείας, το κλείσιμο των γκαράζ του πλοίου κατά τη διάρκεια του ταξιδιού, την έρευνα των αιτιών της πυρκαγιάς και της εξάπλωσής της, τον τρόπο με τον οποίο πραγματοποιήθηκε η εκκένωση και η διάσωση,

ΔΕΧΘΗΚΕ το αίτημα του Εισαγγελέως,

ΔΙΟΡΙΣΕ ομάδα 5 πραγματογνωμόνων (πολλοί από τους οποίους εκτέλεσαν χρέη πραγματογνώμονα και στην υπόθεση  του ναυαγίου του Costa Concordia) και

ΠΡΟΣΔΙΟΡΙΣΕ την ανάθεση της πραγματογνωμοσύνης και τη σαφή διατύπωση των ερωτημάτων στα οποία θα κληθούν να απαντήσουν, στις 22.05.2015 στο Δικαστήριο του Μπάρι στις 9.30 π.μ.

Επίσης, διατάσσει την κοινοποίηση αυτού του εγγράφου σε όλα τα εμπλεκόμενα μέρη, περιλαμβανομένων και των επιβατών και μάλιστα (και) με δημόσιο τρόπο (δημοσίευση σε ιστότοπους κλπ.).

Οι δικηγόροι του pool Giustizia per Norman Atlantic με τους οποίους συνεργαζόμαστε στενά θα παραστούν στη σχετική ακρόαση εκπροσωπώντας τις οικογένειες θυμάτων και τους επιβάτες για τους οποίους έχουν ήδη υποβάλει μηνύσεις και θα καλέσουν εκ νέου ενώπιον του Δικαστηρίου τις εγκαλούμενες εταιρίες ΑΝΕΚ και VISEMAR να υποβάλουν επίσημα σοβαρές προτάσεις αποζημίωσης και χρηματικής ικανοποίησης των οικογενειών των θυμάτων και των επιβατών, ανταποκρινόμενες στις τραγικές συνθήκες του ατυχήματος , ενώ την επόμενη εβδομάδα (και πάντως πριν τις 22/05/2015) θα υποβάλουν εκ νέου αίτημα στον αρμόδιο Εισαγγελέα για τη λήψη δείγματος DNA από μέλη των οικογενειών αγνοουμένων του τραγικού ναυαγίου.

Επισημαίνεται ότι μετά την ολοκλήρωση της ως άνω πραγματογνωμοσύνης θα καταστεί δυνατή και η αναμενόμενη από καιρό επιστροφή στους επιβάτες του Norman Atlantic και όσων προσωπικών αντικειμένων και οχημάτων τους ανήκουν και δεν καταστράφηκαν από την εκδηλωθείσα το πλοίο πυρκαγιά.

                                                                                                 Κρίτων Μεταξόπουλος                                                                                               Δικηγόρος, LL.M.