Greece on Saturday announced an investigation into a fire aboard a Greek-flagged ship which killed at least nine crew members off Venezuela.
“Greece, in cooperation with the authorities in Venezuela, will open an inquiry into this tragic incident,” Interior Minister Michalis Chryssohoides was quoted as saying by public Net television.
He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, six Filipino sailors and three Greek officers.
The blaze broke out Friday aboard the cargo ship Aegean Wind, owned by Atlantic Bulk Carriers.
The “Aegean Wind” was en route from Brazil to Houston of the United States when one engine room caught fire before dawn on Friday about 33 nautical miles (61 km) northeast of the island of Blanquilla.
Six of the dead were from the Philippines and three from Greece.
The Aegean Wind was transporting iron ore from Brazil to the US port of Houston, Texas.
Atlantic Bulk Carriers said a Dutch-flagged tug, the London, had gone to the aid of the freighters.
