WASHINGTON: The deadliest Mediterranean shipwreck in years that killed hundreds of Pak­istani migrants was a preventable tragedy, according to a Washington Post report published on Wednesday.

The 38-page report, based on boat-logs, and interviews with survivors and government officials, also casts doubt on a claim by Greek officials that their coast guards failed to rescue the passengers because they refused to accept their help.

The Post reported that the boat — Adriana — sank near the deepest po­int of the Mediterranean. More than 600 people may have drowned. The boat travelled at least 34 miles in its last 15 hours, averaging 2.2mph.

Haseeb Ur Rehman, a motorcycle mechanic from Azad Kashmir, told the Post that the boat faced “repeated engine failure” on the last day.

Report casts doubt on Greek officials’ claim that passengers refused to take their help

He said the engine stopped working for about five hours on June 11 and again for a period on the night of June 12. Rehman, who survived by climbing onto the overturned hull, said the sounds and memories of that night “will haunt me for as long I live”.

Another Pakistani passenger, Mehtab Ali, posted on TikTok that two private vessels tried to help but failed. The second ship — the Faithful Warrior — “created waves that [our] boat could not withstand”.

Those who could have rescued the boat, particularly the Greek coast guards, “knew the boat could sink. Boarding it didn’t feel like a choice”, experts the Post consulted said. This contradicts the Greek claim that they never felt the boat could have sunk.

Contrary to the coast guard account that the boat was making steady progress and determined to get to Italy, the experts noted the boat’s speed fluctuated dramatically while circling back on its route.

“European law allows authorities to board and search a flagless vessel like the Adriana if there are reasonable grounds to suspect migrant smuggling,” the report points out.

International maritime law ex­­perts told the Post that “the legal responsibility to rescue people in distress holds no matter their intent or immigration status”.

The Greek coast guard defended its decision not to intervene earlier by emphasising that the Adriana rejected help. The point is repeated five times in the official statement.

The report notes that the passengers may have rejected the help offer out of fear.

“Greek authorities have a reputation for aggressively pushing migrant boats out of the search-and-rescue area they are responsible for,” the report adds.

The Post reported that passengers contacted an activist, Nawal Soufi, seeking “immediate help” and he alerted Italian, Greek and Maltese officials.

The paper also provided physicists and oceanographers with its estimates of the Adriana’s speed and direction, the known coordinates of the boat, and weather data from the Faithful Warrior, the Lucky Sailor, the ships that contacted the sinking boat. It also shared with them the data from another ship involved after the capsizing, the Mayan Queen IV.

The experts concluded that the boat’s directional shift towards the southeast during at least two points in its journey — after its interaction with the Lucky Sailor and in the last hour before its capsizing — was consistent with engine problems, as the boat appeared to be drifting in the direction implied by local currents and winds.

The Greek coast guard declined to respond to detailed questions about the Post’s findings, citing an ongoing investigation.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023