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After a cargo ship sank during a heavy storm southwest of the Greek island of Lesbos, there is little hope for survivors. The search continued on Monday and twelve people were still missing.

A member of the 14-man crew was rescued shortly after the sinking on Sunday – the man clung to a barrel and was discovered by a rescue helicopter. Another was found dead. Meanwhile, there are increasing indications that the ship was not seaworthy and may have had illegal cargo on board.

The only survivor of the accident so far has already expressed criticism. The Greek coast guard said the man was unharmed but in shock. He stated that there had already been problems with the engines and water ingress on the cargo ship “Raptor” on Sunday evening, but the captain had not reported this. A spokesperson for the Greek coast guard reported this on Monday on the ERT channel.

Instead, the captain only sent information about an engine failure around 7 a.m. on Sunday and the distress signal “Mayday” about an hour and a half later. Shortly afterwards the freighter disappeared from radar. A coast guard spokesperson points out that the captain should have reported the water intrusion immediately so that the operations center could have initiated rescue measures more quickly. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The merchant marine portal “maritime-executive.com” reported on Monday that the ship had a history of “serious inspection deficiencies” and published a corresponding list. According to this report, during extensive inspections in August this year, Romanian authorities discovered a total of 65 defects, including a broken emergency generator, missing fire extinguishers, rusted holes in the hull and corroded hatch covers.

According to the Greek daily Kathimerini, the ship was on the “black list” and should not have been on its way at all. The authorities’ suspicions are therefore increasing that, in addition to approximately 6,300 tons of salt, the ‘Raptor’ could also have had illegal cargo such as drugs or weapons on board. This is also supported by the fact that the captain reported the problems so late. It is also questionable whether the ship actually had its destination in Istanbul; the survivor reportedly stated that the real destination was Ukraine.

It also remains unclear why the crew did not manage to get to safety in lifeboats, even though the ship must have been in great danger for several hours during a heavy storm. The sailors are said to have included eleven Egyptians, one Indian and two Syrians. The rescued man is an Egyptian, and the sailor found dead was also identified as Egyptian. (sda/dpa)