Analysis of the movement of the damaged ship in the Ionian Sea questions the version of the Greek Coast Guard

MADRID, 18 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The movement data of the wrecked ship last Tuesday with more than 700 migrants on board in the Ionian Sea, in Greek waters, reveal that the ship had not moved for more than seven hours before capsizing, a period in which according to the Coast Guard Greek the fishing boat continued to move towards Italy and therefore did not need any kind of help. More than 500 people are still missing, 104 have been rescued and 78 bodies have been recovered.

Athens maintains that the ship refused any help and maintained that it was not in danger until shortly before capsizing, but the data analyzed by the British channel BBC from the MarineTraffic portal seems to reveal navigation problems.

The European border control agency, Frontex, reported the first sighting of the ship at 0800 GMT on Tuesday and informed the Greek authorities. The NGO Alarm Phone received a first call for help at 12:17 GMT.

Records show at 1500 GMT as a ship named 'Lucky Sailor' suddenly turns north. The ship's logbook reflects that the change of course is due to the fact that the Greek coast guard asked it to approach the fishing boat crowded with migrants to deliver food and water.

At 3:35 p.m. a coast guard helicopter located the ship, but according to the authorities it was still moving. However, the data suggests that she did not move further until she finally capsized and sank.

Around 18:00 GMT another ship, the 'Faithful Warrior', passed through the area and also delivered supplies to the fishing vessel. The owners of the boat have not wanted to answer the BBC's questions and have referred the press to the authorities.

A video posted apparently from the 'Faithful Warrior' shows how supplies are delivered to migrants via a rope and no other boats can be seen in it.

Between 7:40 p.m. and 10:40 p.m., the Greek authorities assure that the boat maintained a "constant course and speed" and maintain that they were observing from a "discreet distance." An image released Thursday by the Coast Guard would show the vessel had not moved.

Later, a spokesman for the Greek government assured that the coast guard tried to board the fishing boat to assess the risk, but those on board removed the rope and refused any help.

However, the ship sank at 11:00 p.m. GMT, at which time several ships navigating in the area could be seen moving rapidly toward the point of the incident. The ship registry does not, however, reflect military or Coast Guard vessels.

Among the ships that attended are the 'Celebrity Beyond', since a video of the shipwreck was recorded, or the luxury yacht 'Mayan Queen', which rescued some of the 104 survivors.

The report of the captain of the Greek coast guard, collected by the newspaper 'Kathimerini', maintains that the migrants removed the rope tied to the ship by the coast guards and responded "No help. Go Italy" ("Do not help us. Let's go to Italy") about 20.57 GMT.

At 11:40 p.m., the fishing vessel stopped moving and began to list slowly. Then there was an uproar from the passengers and screams could be heard. In less than a minute the ship capsized, according to the official Greek report.

From here, various versions have been speculated, such as that it was the attempt by the Greeks to tow the ship to Italy that caused it to sink.

The UN has already called for an investigation into the actions of the Greek authorities in this incident and has pointed out that steps should have been taken for a large-scale rescue.