Seventeen years after the sinking of the cruise ship “Sea Diamond” in the Caldera of Santorini, the shipowning companies are obliged, by three decisions of the Council of State (CoE), to pay shipwreck dues for the decade 2007-2017 amounting to 3,156,187 euros plus statutory interest, thus raising the amount to about 7 million euros. In contrast, two other decisions of the CoE erased shipwreck royalties of EUR 2,077,557 that had been attributed to the cruise ship’s shipping agent.

In the early morning hours of 6 April 2007, the 22,412-tonne “Sea Diamond” struck a charted reef and wrecked in the area of Athinios Bay, Santorini.

The cruise ship was carrying 1,163 passengers and 391 crew members. All were rescued, except French tourist Jean Christophe Alain, 45, and his 16-year-old daughter Maud, who are still missing today as their bodies were never found. For this reason, no criminal charges of manslaughter have been brought against the master and the shipowner. On the contrary, the family of the French tourist has rescued his 43-year-old wife, Ann.

The sinking of the ship and the spillage of petroleum products caused pollution of the Caldera’s marine area, and the cruise ship’s carcass is still submerged today at a depth of 150 meters. According to a statement by the shipowner, the cruise ship on the day of its sinking carried 430 tons of fuel oil, 63 tons of diesel, 36,000 liters of lubricating oil, 35 cubic meters of heavy and light oil residues.

On the criminal side, in March 2016 the Supreme Court finally upheld the misdemeanor sentences imposed by the Piraeus Trial Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence of 36 months imprisonment imposed on the master of the cruise ship and the sentence of 24 months imprisonment imposed on the general manager of fleet operations of Core Marine Limited and also finally terminated the criminal prosecution against the second lieutenant of the bridge duty officer.

However, the Thera Harbour Fund has made an imputation of wreckage rights for the period 2007-2017. The calculation of wreckage rights is based on the total capacity of the ship, which in this case is 22,412, combined with the days of the wreck. The daily imputation for the “Sea Diamond” has been set at €1,344.

According to the legislation, the attribution of the shipwreck dues is “jointly and severally” to the shipowner, the shipowner and the shipping agent at the time of the shipwreck. Thus, the Thera Port Fund has attributed shipwreck rights to Elona Maritime, Louis Hellenic Cruises and Core Marine in the amount of EUR 3,152,187 for the period 2007-2017. And the maritime agent was charged 2,077,557 euros.

Appeal

Both the companies in question and the shipping agent appealed in 2016 to the Syros Administrative Court of First Instance against the Thera Port Fund, seeking the annulment of the wreckage rights’ attribution. After five years of deliberations, the administrative magistrates of Syros decided, by a majority, that they are not competent to hear the applications for annulment, but the Council of State is competent, where they were referred to be heard.

Before the CoE, the shipowning companies argued, inter alia, that it was technically impossible to raise the cruise ship from 150 metres and that the imposition of financial penalties was therefore abusive.

However, the Second Chamber of the CoE, chaired by the vice-president Michalis Pikramenos and with the rapporteur being the president of the court, Georgia Fliggou, rejected the companies’ claim as unfounded.

Furthermore, the applicants argued that “the wreck is located at a depth of 150 metres and does not impede the berthing, anchoring, mooring etc. of other ships in the port, nor does it impede free navigation and its sinking was not caused by the fault of the shipowning companies or their officers, namely the master, officers and others”. And the sinking was due, they added, “to the incorrect determination of the shallows on the chart of the Hydrographic Service of the Navy.”

But this claim was also rejected by the Council of State as unfounded. This is because, according to the State advisers, wreckage rights are enforced “on the sole condition that the wreck remains on the seabed and this regardless of whether it hinders the operation of the port or constitutes a danger to navigation or is due to the fault of the shipowning company.”

The Shipping Agent

According to the Maritime Law, the agent of the “Sea Diamond” had been charged with wreck dues of 2,077,557 euros by the Thera Port Fund. However, the agent appealed in turn, first to the Syros Administrative Court of First Instance and then the applications for annulment were forwarded to the Council of State, requesting that the amount attributed to her be annulled.

Indeed, the Second Chamber of the CoE, with the same composition as that which had tried the shipowning companies, accepted her application and in two judgments annulled the amount charged against her. The State Counselors of State granted her applications, as they held that the sinking of the cruise ship was not due to the ship exceeding its carrying capacity (excess passengers and vehicles), so that the person who acted as agent for the “Sea Diamond” was liable.