The captain of a Spanish trawler that sank off Canada in 2022 with 21 deaths will stand trial, as will two executives from the company that operated the vessel, a Spanish court said Thursday.
The Villa de Pitanxo, based in the northwestern Spanish port of Marin, sank some 450 kilometres (280 miles) off the eastern coast of Canada in February 2022 with 24 crew on board. Only three survived, including the captain.
A National Court judge ordered the case to proceed against the vessel’s captain, Juan Enrique Padin, and two executives from operator Pesquerías Nores Marín: company manager José Antonio Nores Rodríguez and fleet director José Antonio Nores Ortega.
The three men are accused of 21 counts of grossly negligent homicide, one for each of the deceased crew members, as well as negligent injury and offences against workers’ rights, the court said.
A trial date has not yet been set.
The judge ordered the three defendants to provide bail of €44 million ($50 million) to cover potential compensation claims, citing the “multiple loss of lives, consequences and damages caused”, according to the court statement.
The captain said the vessel sank after being left adrift in extremely rough seas, while a surviving Ghanaian sailor gave a different account, saying the fishing net became trapped on the seabed and that the captain refused to cut it loose to avoid losing the catch.
The sinking was the deadliest accident involving Spain’s fishing industry in nearly four decades.
A probe by a Spanish transport ministry agency published last year found the vessel had exceeded its authorised crew limit and was carrying excess equipment and fuel tanks.
It also cited failures related to safety and decision-making before the disaster.
