Overview
- The Ministerio Público filed a written indictment on June 3–4, 2026 that charges captain Juan Enrique Padín and armadora executives José Antonio Nores Rodríguez and José Antonio Nores Ortega with 21 counts of negligent homicide plus related offences and requests nine-year prison terms for each.
- Prosecutors also seek 13-year professional disqualifications, joint civil liability for Pesquerías Nores and direct civil responsibility for insurer British Marine, and they have proposed an extensive witness and expert plan for the oral trial that has not yet been scheduled.
- The case rests on survivor testimony—notably Samuel Koufie (Kwesi)—CIAIM and judicial expert reports, documentary records and images from a robotic inspection of the wreck at about 750 meters that prosecutors say show illegal fuel tanks, excess weight and structural faults.
- The indictment alleges the vessel sailed repeatedly into ice-formation zones despite a March 2018 ban, and that unauthorized extra fuel tanks, excess catch and open internal fittings reduced freeboard and stability, increasing flood risk during a virada in severe weather.
- If the charges proceed to trial, families and survivors will hear testimony from rescuers and crew from nearby ships and multiple peritajes will be re-examined, a step that could shape accountability for regulatory oversight and company safety practices in deep-sea fishing.