«With the sea force 4, the V5006 patrol boat at a speed of 30 knots and the Barbarisi patrol vessel with a speed of 15 knots (both of the Financial Police, ndc) could have intercepted the Summer Love vessel before the shipwreck. Unless the commanders had encountered problems that were making navigation difficult.”
This was reiterated several times yesterday by Admiral Salvatore Carannante, the consultant appointed by the Crotone Prosecutor’s Office to reconstruct the last hours of navigation of the gulet which sank on 26 February 2023 off the coast of Steccato di Cutro causing the death of 94 migrants. The expert was called by the public prosecutor Matteo Staccini to testify before the Crotone Court which is judging the six soldiers (four from the Financial Police and two from the Port Authority) accused of failing to rescue the vessel: Giuseppe Grillo, shift manager of the operations room of the Crotone Financial Police and of the Vibo Valentia air-naval operations department; Alberto Lippolis, commander of the Roan of Vibo Valentia; Antonino Lopresti, command and tactical control officer of the Roan; Nicolino Vardaro, commander of the Taranto air-naval group; Nicola Nania, inspection officer on duty at the National Maritime Rescue Coordination Center of the Coast Guard in Rome; and Francesca Perfido, inspection officer of the Port Authority of Reggio Calabria.
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