The chief officer of a Malta-flagged tanker has been accused of the involuntary homicide of five persons on board a trawler his ship had collided into.

The Sichem Pandora tanker collided with trawler Klein Familie on 5 January, 2006, causing it to sink and leading to the death of five of the 6 French crewmen on board.

A magisterial inquiry concluded that criminal proceedings should be instituted against Vasily Ogarkov and Alexandrs Belikovs, due to a failure to help a vessel in distress and assist people in danger at sea and a breach of duty to report accidents.

A European arrest warrant was issued against Mr Ogarkov, who was based in Cyprus, and he was extradited to face proceedings.

Mr Ogarkov was deemed to have fully cooperated with the police, and was granted bail by Magistrate Neville Camilleri.

His lawyer, Stephen Tonna Lowell, insisted that the witnesses should be heard as soon as possible so that the accused does not remain in Malta for long, a request which prosecuting inspector Kylie Borg agreed with.

The case continues next Monday.