On April 24, 2025, a tragic accident occurred aboard the Italian ferry *AF Claudia* in the port of Patras, resulting in the death of a Greek crew member. A waitress was walking on the ramp outside the designated public walkway while talking on her phone with headphones. She stopped on the ramp just as a moving vehicle was reversing, striking and killing her. The Italian captain, who was in the bridge at the time of the incident, along with the first officer and a sailor—all of Italian nationality—were immediately arrested by Greek police, handcuffed, and taken to prison.
This is the opening of a news report used by Giovanni Lettich, President of the *Collegio Nazionale Capitani L.C. e M.*, in the association’s in-house publication *Vita e Mare*, to illustrate how crucial it is for merchant marine officers to have workplace protection, ensuring access to proper legal assistance.
“The captain is an insured member of the *Collegio Capitani*, which promptly provided him with a lawyer and translator. After five days, the three crew members were released; the trial will take place in a few months. A key piece of evidence was the garage surveillance footage, which clearly showed the dynamics of the incident and the complete innocence of the captain and crew.”
According to Lettich, “the task of protecting Merchant Marine Officers, wherever they are in the world,” is “excellently fulfilled by the *Collegio Nazionale Capitani*, which offers insurance and time-tested legal support, covering expenses up to €250,000 per incident.”
