The Bugeja family members that spearheaded the search for the Simshar which went missing on Thursday 10 July are still at odds with the Armed Forces of Malta for the way they conducted search operations for the missing vessel.

Only boat owner Simon Bugeja survived the tragedy, with his father Carmelo, Noel Carabott and Somali fisherman Abdelrahman Abdala Gedi recovered dead from the water while 11-year-old Theo is still missing, and presumed dead.

Amante Bugeja, Carmelo's brother, told The Malta Independent yesterday that he reluctantly called off the search on Monday as he was expecting rough seas yesterday which made the search for Theo impossible.

He heavily criticised the Fisheries Department for only realising that the Simshar had disappeared from its satellite tracking device four days after the accident, even though fishing vessels were supposed to be monitored around the clock to make sure that fishing was not undertaken in designated areas.

Mr Bugeja, known as il-Bosti, said he expected AFM Commander Brigadier Carmel Vassallo to step down after he blamed the army for losing precious time in the search for the missing boat and its crew.

The Marsaxlokk fisherman said 26 hours were wasted in the search as Laura II skipper Louis Zammit was ordered not to tell anyone that he had found the body of Noel Carabott on Thursday at 5pm.

Mr Zammit told this newspaper that he knew Mr Carabott and recognised him even though his body was decomposing. He said Mr Carabott had a number of tattoos which he recognised straight away; however, the army would not let him tell anyone as it was not convinced that he had seen right.

He said the AFM was always promising planes to help in the search operations yet these did not materialise and patrol boats were sent only to ferry corpses ashore.

Mr Bugeja said his boat Il-Madonna tal-Karmnu, with survivor Simon's brother Marvin on board, set sail on Monday 14 July at noon.

He said he obtained the codes for the Simshar's longlines' transmitting devices, in the hope that the lines were spread out, however, it was not the case. He said he met foreign fishermen who told him that they saw the Simshar near Lampedusa and immediately they sailed towards the Italian island. On the way they met the Laura II which a few hours later was to find Mr Carabott, five days after he drowned, after giving his clothes to Theo to try to keep him warm.

Il-Madonna tal-Karmnu on Friday, still unaware that Mr Carabott had been found, went back to the last known position of Simshar and sailed for 50 miles towards Libya. However, at noon, Mr Zammit informed him of his find.

Infuriated, he set sail towards Laura II; however, at around 4.30pm he saw a helicopter fly from behind the boat, circling in the air and leave. He immediately turned the wheel towards where the helicopter had circled.

After being just about half a mile away from the point he was heading to, said an irate Mr Bugeja, the helicopter threw a flare and told the Malta Coast Radio that there was a body floating.

“I did not need his flare; I had already spotted my brother. He was impossible to miss, he was so bloated that he was almost a metre above the water," he thundered.

Mr Bugeja remembered how he went mad at the sight of his brother who ended up in that state. He explained how chilly the air at night was and one could not sleep without sheets, while the scorching sun beat incessantly during the day.

"Had the AFM provided adequate training to its soldiers, they would have saved them (the Simshar crew) on Sunday or Monday," he said.

On Saturday, he said, there were about 25 to 30 vessels out at sea, with no patrol boat or AFM plane in sight, however, on Sunday a plane came and made a thorough search.

Norbert Zahra, a cousin of Simon Bugeja, told this newspaper how he ended up questioned by the AFM at the Luqa Barracks after he went on a private plane in search for Theo.

Mr Zahra recounted how Saviour Ellul, chairman of a fish farming company, rented a private plane on Saturday and flew for four hours in the morning and spotted the body of the 21-year-old Somali fisherman as well as a quantity of flotsam.

In the afternoon, Mr Zahra, Mr Ellul and his brother Carmelo took another ride on another plane and managed to spot some floats, one of which seemed to be keeping afloat a heavier object that was submerged.

On landing at 9pm, said Mr Zahra, they were taken off to the Luqa Barracks where they were heavily reprimanded for flying without authorisation. They were also ordered not to fly on Sunday.