Divers discovered a massive crack in the ferry that ran aground at Nea Styra in Evia. The divers who operated to assess the extent of the damage found a crack nearly 20 meters long in the ferry boat, which will remain at the site through Wednesday night until a complete plan and study for the entire detachment and towing process is submitted.
What the ferry captain claimed in Nea Styra Evia
The ordeal continues for many passengers, as their cars are still aboard the ship. The 62-year-old captain, who remains in custody until Friday, reportedly claimed during his testimony that he could not avoid running aground, adding that the rudders got stuck.
Ferry accident in Nea Styra Evia: What a senior executive of the shipping company says
According to a SKAI report, a high-ranking executive of the ship-owning company revealed: “This is a 62-year-old captain who had been operating this specific route for 8 years and the last two on this particular ship. After the incident, the captain contacted the company owners and asked for forgiveness, without being able to adequately explain the causes of the grounding, attributing it to absent-mindedness and lack of attention. Two other people were on the bridge, the engineer to his left and the ticket controller to his right. He was holding the wheel at the time of the collision, and regarding the delay in reporting the incident, he said he was stunned“.
The company maintained that it took all necessary notification actions.
Ferry grounding in Nea Styra Evia: The detachment and next steps
In the SKAI report, regarding the next steps, the high-ranking company executive mentioned that the ship removal process is in its final stages. A tugboat is positioned right next to it to keep it in place due to the winds blowing in the area.
He also added that a special team of ten people is expected to repair the crack, while, as he emphasized, tomorrow morning the tugboat will pull the ferry, which will move to the port so drivers can retrieve their vehicles, and then sail to Piraeus for seaworthiness inspection.
“We’re getting into other people’s boats, we’ve been here for an hour and a half” – The ordeal of dozens of ferry passengers in Nea Styra Evia
The ferry “Panagia Paravounotissa” was carrying 105 passengers and 9 crew members, who fortunately are all in good health.
“The Coast Guard says 10 minutes to half an hour, we’re getting into other people’s boats. We’ve been here for one to one and a half hours for no reason,” said a passenger of “Panagia Paravounotissa,” who shared her ordeal by posting a video on her TikTok account.
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Video footage shows hundreds of passengers wearing life jackets trying to board private boats that eventually transported them safely to Nea Styra port.
“I was on board when the ship ran aground,” another passenger appears to say in another video clip – this time from inside one of the boats that assisted in transporting passengers.
It should be noted that three Coast Guard vessels and another passenger-vehicle ferry rushed to the scene to assist in the process.
However, the video does not fail to denounce the lack of organization from both the Coast Guard and the ferry company.
“This man literally took us all into his arms and as soon as we arrived, the Coast Guard came and asked for his boat license instead of saying thank you. The crew was nowhere to be found. We put on life jackets ourselves, we called the Coast Guard ourselves,” the post reads.
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