The family of the 21-year-old Somali fisherman who lost his life in the Simshar tragedy almost two years ago yesterday filed a judicial application calling for the liquidation of damages.

The family of Abdurahman Abdulle Gedi filed the judicial letter against the owner of the boat, Simon Bugeja, and his wife Sharon, and Dr Anthony Gruppetta on behalf of the Fisheries Department.

Dr Tonio Azzopardi, who filed the application on behalf of Fadumo Abdulle Qabobe, the victim’s mother, requested damages since they said the death of Mr Gedi was the result of ignoring legislation violations, such as those relating to use of safety equipment. It has resulted that the victim, who was the last man to be found nine days after the Simshar went missing, suffered extensive burns to his chest and back as a result of the explosion and fires.

The boat, which was registered and based in Malta, left the island on 7 July 2008, but until 10 July had failed to send any signal via the Vessel Monitoring System, even though this signal should be sent every two hours. The letter refers to the preliminary report which was put together by maritime law expert Dr Ann Fenech, which said that Mr Bugeja did not know how to use the Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon or the Digital Selective Calling properly.

He also didn’t know how to use the VMS Distress Button and didn’t have the necessary training on what to do in the case of an emergency.

The family was also holding the Fisheries Department responsible, since there were many loopholes in the enforcement of regulations and observance of standards. It was a case of negligence and imprudence, and a lack of awareness of what one should do in such cases.

The family also asked for the name of the insurance company with which the Simshar was insured at the time of the incident.

The Simshar tragedy left four victims, including Simon Bugeja’s son Theo, his father Karmenu, Noel Carabott and Mr Gedi. If the damages are not paid, the family will start legal proceedings.