Sinking Of F174
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The sinking of the ship ''F174'' took place on the night of December 25–26, 1996, off the coast of
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. An old, severely overloaded wooden ship transporting illegal immigrants from
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
sank from
Portopalo di Capo Passero Portopalo di Capo Passero ( Sicilian: ''Puortupalu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (Italy). The southernmost commune of the island of Sicily, it is about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Syracuse. ...
in Sicily (Italy), under questionable circumstances, and came to rest under of water. The number of deaths remains unknown, but at least 283 men, women and children perished. This event was, at the time, the worst maritime disaster in the Mediterranean Sea since
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It has since been surpassed by several other migrant shipwrecks. The disaster is known in Italy as the ''Strage di Natale'' (Christmas massacre) or Portopalo massacre. The fishermen of Portopalo became aware of the disaster when they began to recover human remains and other evidence in their nets. However, they and practically all of the other residents of Portopalo failed to report it to the authorities, fearing that government action would interfere with their livelihood. ''
La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
'' reporter Giovanni Maria Bellu finally broke the story, leading to much soul searching in Italy over the indifference to the fate of illegal immigrants.


The tragedy


Rendezvous in Alexandria

Illegal migrants traveled along many different routes, all of them controlled by
human traffickers Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
from
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and
Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...
, from the Indo-Pakistani region and assembled in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
and
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, hoping to reach the coast of Italy. They were supposed to board a large fishing vessel, the ''Friendship'', but the payload was not enough for the shipowner to risk the voyage to the Italian coast. After 12 days of waiting for a new group of migrants, they were moved to a new ship, a
Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...
freighter named the ''Iohan El Hallal'' (or ''Yohan'' according to some sources), flying a Honduran flag. Commanded by Lebanese Captain Youssef El-Hallal, the ''Iohan El Hallal'' was barely big enough to accommodate 470 passengers.


Ship swap

On December 24 (or possibly 25), the ship sailed for
international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...
, where the passengers were secretly unloaded onto another boat, codenamed ''F174'' (actual name unknown). Some passengers complained about the bad condition of the vessel, but were forced to board it by the captain, armed and purportedly drunk. ''F174'' was a vessel long, wide, painted white and blue, designed for short fishing trips and furnished with freezers in the hold. At best, it could hold 80 passengers and crew, and was usually used as a shuttle to bring food and water from the docks to the ''Iohan''. The hold was accessible only through a small hatch. It was in terrible shape and missing any safety features. Its wooden hull was worn out and the ship was barely staying afloat in the stormy sea. Survivors who later testified in a Greek trial called it a "floating coffin". After the fishing vessel showed signs of instability due to the extreme load, about a hundred migrants were sent back to the ''Iohan'', leaving over 300 (317 according to some survivors) to begin the final leg of their trip. It is unclear why the ''Iohan'' was not used instead of the less seaworthy ''F174'', especially since a storm was highly likely and strong winds had been reported. The Italian coasts were normally patrolled by military ships, but the bigger ship had been used on smuggling runs, and would later do so again.


The sinking

While moving people between ships, ''F174'' was struck in the bow by the ''Iohan''. The damage was underestimated and the transfer continued, but part of the bow planking gave way and water began to enter the ship. When the emergency became clear, Eftychios Zervoudakis, the Greek commander and owner of ''F174'', asked the ''Iohan'' for help. A few minutes later, the bigger ship was on the way to the rescue. It is unclear if ''F174'' broke up due to a small gale or if, as some survivors claimed later, the ship went down as a result of a collision with the ''Iohan'' when the latter came to pick up Zervoudakis, who had jumped into the sea well before the final moments of his ship. In any case, the sinking took only a matter of minutes. Only 30 people could be saved by the ''Iohan''s lifeboats. The exit through the small hatch impaired those fleeing from the sinking ship, and the secondary hatches were blocked by the people standing on the deck, too scared to jump in the freezing water or waiting a rope from the mother ship. The Lebanese captain, drunk and aggressive, purportedly forbade the passengers to help the drowning people. At least 283 people sank with the ship. The ''Iohan'' sailed for Greece with about 170 survivors. There, the captain unloaded the passengers and managed to have them segregated in a clandestine jail inside an abandoned farmhouse. Some migrants escaped and alerted the local police. They reported the sinking, but were not believed and were sent to a real jail. The ''Iohan'' continued bringing illegal migrants to Italy, until it was spotted and impounded while leaving
Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
on February 28. Italian officers investigated the ship superficially, but got no clue of the tragedy.


Hiding and first reports


Fishermen

From January 2, Portopalo fishermen began to find corpses, body parts and personal belongings in their nets, but did not alert the local police. Notifying the Capitaneria di Porto could have meant being questioned or, worse, having ships and equipment impounded for investigations without any financial compensation at a time where the fishing season was at its peak. Many fishermen just threw the bodies back into the sea, and became a well-kept secret of the fishing community. Those who brought back some of the corpses were threatened with bureaucratic obstruction and lost ten days of work before having their ships restored to them. The widespread feeling was that the officers were trying to avoid problems and responded with hostility and retaliation to any initiative to act in the matter.


Salvatore Lupo

In 2001, local fisherman Salvatore "Salvo" Lupo, unaware of the tragedy, went fishing in an unusual spot. His nets caught something underwater and were damaged. He recovered them and found clothes with coins in the pockets and the ID card of a 17-year-old
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
named Ampalagan Ganeshu from Chawchsceri. Lupo alerted the Sea Authority about what he had found and about the likely presence of a wreck in the spot where ''F174'' sank. The officers did not believe him. Through a friend living in Rome, Lupo contacted journalist Giovanni Maria Bellu, who was investigating rumors about the sinking, and gave him the coordinates. Lupo's story met with mixed public response; he was supported by some of his fellow townsfolk, but met with hostility from many others, who accused him of having betrayed his town, slandered its name, and potentially ruined the fishing and tourist season. After the story broke, he embarked on a five-month fishing cruise trip and ultimately had to quit fishing due to threats to him and his ship. While young people, townsfolk and many fishermen came to terms with the tragedy in the following years, city officers and politicians claimed that this event was a dark spot on city's reputation and opposed many initiatives to honor the memory of the deceased. When Bellu's book ''I Fantasmi di Portopalo'' (''Ghosts of Portopalo'') was published, it was harsh criticized by the city's mayor, Fernando Cammisuli. Questioned, he stated that he had read only "a few pages" of the book. Remembrance ceremonies in the following years were largely unattended by city officers, and only about 400 of the 3000 residents of Portopalo showed up.


Inquiry

The first rumors about the sinking were quickly dismissed as exaggerations and falsehoods. The official stance of the Italian government was firm disbelief in the story, which was repeatedly described as an "alleged sinking".


Filming the wreckage

In 2001, Bellu managed to send a
remotely operated underwater vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is a free-swimming submersible craft used to perform underwater observation, inspection and physical tasks such as valve operations, hydraulic functions and other g ...
(ROV) to the seabed to film the wreck and the skeletons of the victims. The whole investigation up to that point had been done at his expense, since no newspaper thought the story to be of public interest. The ROV mission was sponsored by the newspaper ''
la Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
'' and the magazine ''
L'espresso () is an Italian progressive weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is the conservative magazine . Since 2022, it has been published by BFC Media. From 7 August 2016 to 10 September 2023, it was ...
''. The ROV filmed the damaged hull, showing consistent damage to the bow and right side of the ship. The first signs of the wreck came in the form of a sneaker shoe, followed by denim trousers containing a human
femur The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femo ...
. Skeletons were found still in the hold, but many of the
skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...
s had detached and fallen to the seabed. The Siracusa Prosecutor's Office had begun an official inquiry after the first articles by Bello, but after the wreck was found, was forced to abandon any prosecution since the ship was in international waters, not under Italian
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
.


The territorial competency issue

Prosecutors chose to apply an unusual procedure, which allowed them to prosecute crimes committed outside national territory if they are of particular relevance. ''F174''s captain and a Pakistani smuggler were accused of "aggravated multiple voluntary homicide", while the charges against any other crew member of both ''F174'' and the ''Iohan'' were dropped. The Greek captain and owner of ''F174'', Eftychios Zebourdakis, fled to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and could not be prosecuted due to France's refusal to
extradite In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
him. The Pakistani, Tourab Ahmed Sheik, who was living in Malta, was discharged from the first degree offence, but was later sentenced to 30 years for the second degree crime in 2008, along with the captain (''
in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...
''). The ''Iohans captain, the Lebanese El Hallal, could not be prosecuted due to the international waters clause. From the inquiry, it emerged that both he and Zebourdakis were part of a wider
cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...
of human traffickers reaching from
Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
to
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and Alexandria. Zervoudakis came under scrutiny by Greece prosecutors, who held a separate trial. In 1999, he was arrested and jailed in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
while trying to smuggle another load of immigrants.


Bureaucratic obstacles to the hearing

During the proceedings, relatives of the victims from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan asked to be heard, but Italian embassy denied them visas. This caused a minor public outcry by civil right activists. Relatives living in Italy said they risked being jailed (due to the new immigration law) and could not testify either. Zabihullah Bacha, father of the deceased Syed Habib, lived in Italy up until 1995, when he returned to Pakistan to assist his mother. After the tragedy, he asked to return to Italy, but his permit was delayed. He came back as an illegal alien, waiting for an official permit, to testify at the proceedings. He was arrested and risked imprisonment, so he decided to go back to Pakistan. Balwant Singh Khera, a spiritual leader of the Pakistani community, staged a demonstration along with four fellow countryman in the
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in Rome in 1998. He made speeches explaining to
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s walking to the
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the tragic story of the sunken ship, but was held and threatened by the police. He later compiled a dossier about immigration channels, with help from some survivors in India, and was asked to present his findings to the court. Unfortunately, Khera's permit expired; he had to go back to India and was denied an entry visa to Italy.


The "deliberate sinking" theory

Shahab Ahmad, one of the few survivors, stated that the ''Iohan'' struck the ''F174'' on purpose. After trying to have their voices heard by the prosecutors, some of the survivors managed to get in touch with attorney Simonetta Crisci. They were recalled to Italy and allowed to give testimony. Shahab brought an old notepad, on which, a few days after the tragedy had occurred, he had written down the names of the drowned he knew. He told how he spent $7000 to travel from Karachi to Damasco and Latakia, where he boarded a ship called ''Alex'', being later reshipped to the ''Ena'', the ''Friendship'', and finally the ''Iohan''. He stated he was to pay another $7000 after disembarking in Italy. During the four-month trip, passengers were kept segregated, with barely enough water and food to survive. No personal hygiene, razors or haircuts were allowed. That, suggested Shahab, could mean that they were never meant to complete their trip. According to what Shahab told the prosecutors, when the ''Iohan'' hit the ''F174'', the small ship circled for more than an hour before sinking. That kept it from reaching shallower waters, if not the coastline. Passengers alerted the captain, Eftychios Zervoudakis, that the ship was taking water, but all he did was call the ''Iohan'' via cellphone and, after five minutes, jump into the cold water to be picked up by the larger ship. Shahab stated that the ''Iohan''s captain, Youssef El Hallal, prohibited his passengers from throwing ropes to the drowning people. A young Indian was thrown back into the sea at his order. While the testimony was deemed interesting, the deliberate sinking was not proved.


Public response


Attempts to publicize the disaster

The tragedy remained unknown to the general public for five years, until Bellu made available the photographs of the wreck taken by the ROV and he published his book ''Ghosts of Portopalo''. Coincidentally, the day before the tragedy, migrants staged a demonstration in Piazza Colonna in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
to assert their "right to exist". In those five years, friends and relatives of the victims had tried to publicize their cause. Relatives of the Pakistani victims succeeded in joining forces thanks to Mr. Zabiullah, father of one of the deceased, and worked together to trace the whole chain of people and organizations managing the human traffic from Pakistan, to Greece and Italy, led by Turkish criminals, Greek shipowners, Kurd warlords and
Italian Mafia Criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially in the southern part of the country, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions. There are major native mafia-like organizations that are ...
. This report, published in Italy by ''Narcomafie'', helped in the proceedings against the crew of the recently impounded ''Iohan''. The finding of a sunken body near
Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the regional autonomy, Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province o ...
sparked interest by other journalists and by the Indian and Pakistani embassies. The Sri Lankan embassy preferred not to get involved, since their dead were mostly
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
s and
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
s, persecuted minorities in that country. Two of the dead were relatives of Shabir Khan, the leader of the Italian Pakistani community, and had applied for residence permits.


Government's stance on immigration

Requests by locals citizens, European
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
associations and Portuguese government to
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
's administration to recover the wreckage and corpses went unheard. The same happened to any call for a broader inquiry about the human traffic in the Mediterranean and the lack of action by local officers who got a hint of the tragedy. Many civil rights activist and civil associations spoke out against the new immigration law that criminalized illegal aliens, which implied that fishermen helping a sinking immigrant boat in order to save lives could be prosecuted for helping clandestine immigration (as happened in 2004 in the case of the ship '' Cap Anamour'', which was impounded for saving from the sea 39
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immigrants). The Portopalo tragedy was cited as an example of bad behavior caused by unfair immigration laws.


Media representations

On September 30, 2007, the
investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...
TV show ''Blu Notte'' aired an episode about the sinking. A few theater plays have been written about the tragedy, the most famous being ''La Nave Fantasma'' (''Ghost Ship''), with dramatic actor and comedian Bebo Storti. Bellu, Storti and Renato Sarti are the play's authors.


References

{{1996 shipwrecks F174 Maritime incidents in Italy Migrant boat disasters in the Mediterranean Sea Illegal immigration to Italy December 1996 in Europe