UPDATED: Inquiry into the loss of the Simshar

(Adds ministry's reaction to MLP statement)

The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Communication Austin Gatt, has appointed Dr Anne Fenech as the inquiring officer to carry out a preliminary investigation into the loss of the Simshar, it was announced today. Dr Fenech will also make recommendations in terms of the Merchant Shipping Act.

The tragedy is also the subject of a Magisterial inquiry.

Earlier today, Labour fisheries spokesman Joe Sammut said that while the Simshar tragedy should not be politicised, it should also be ensured that no one shirked his responsibilities.

Dr Sammut in a statement said this was not the case of an authority or a government entity becoming a sacrificial lamb, but there were clearly shortcomings which the authorities should have prevented.

He said the AFM lacked sufficient resources to conduct the search operation, and there were serious questions about the role of the Fisheries Department in overseeing the Vessel Monitoring System. Should it result that the government had been miserly, it should assume responsibility, Dr Sammut said.

Furthermore, if it resulted that the country was being burdened with more responsibilities than it could shoulder, the opposition was prepared to help the government bring this matter before the competent EU authorities. In this way, Maltese citizens would not suffer the consequences of having scarce resources deployed on other sectors.

The Resources Ministry in a reaction to the MLP statement urged the opposition not to seek political mileage from this tragedy.

The ministry said it was being prudent in its comments, especially since a search for a missing person was ongoing and a Magisterial inquiry was in progress.

It said that Dr Sammut was making himself to be judge and jury in this episode.