Captain and company executives to stand trial over Spanish trawler sinking

The captain of a Spanish trawler that sank off Canada in 2022, killing 21 people, will stand trial along with two executives from the company that operated the vessel, a Spanish court said.

The Villa de Pitanxo, based in the northwestern Spanish port of Marin, sank in February 2022 about 450 kilometres off Canada's eastern coast. There were 24 crew members on board. Only three survived, including the captain.

A National Court judge ordered proceedings against captain Juan Enrique Padin and two executives from operator Pesquerias Nores Marin: company manager Jose Antonio Nores Rodriguez and fleet director Jose Antonio Nores Ortega.

The three defendants are accused of 21 counts of grossly negligent homicide, one for each crew member who died. They are also accused of negligent injury and offences against workers' rights, the court said. No trial date has been set.

The judge ordered the defendants to provide bail of 44 million euros, or about $50 million, to cover possible compensation claims. The court statement cited the number of deaths and the consequences and damage caused.

There are differing accounts of how the vessel sank. The captain said it went down after being left adrift in extremely rough seas. A surviving Ghanaian sailor said 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 Spanish transport ministry agency investigation published last year found that the vessel had exceeded its authorised crew limit and was carrying excess equipment and fuel tanks. It also cited safety and decision-making failures before the disaster.