The men who responded to the distress signal sent by passenger ferry “Norman Atlantic” on December 28 when it caught fire, received a medal for their service and bravery by the Greek Minister of Mercantile Marine, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, and the Greek Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias. In a ceremony held at the Defense Ministry, 42 Greek men, members of the Greek Navy and Air Force, as well as the Greek Coast Guard who aided in the rescue mission, received official medals for their service. “Our thoughts are with the victims and missing persons’ families, who are the reason we keep working so that we can bring them news about their loved ones. The search mission is still ongoing, led by the Italian authorities and the assistance of Greek vessels, both aircraft and boats, because we think that the families deserve a clear answer,” said Varvitsiotis. “Our Armed Forces and Coast Guard have once again shown their high level of operational readiness, professionalism, skills and sense of duty,” noted Dendias, adding that he hoped that with the help of Italian authorities, they would soon be able to determine what went wrong. The Italian-flagged passenger ferry, which belongs to Greek ferry line ANEK, sailing from Patras, western Greece, to Ancona, Italy, sent a distress signal on December 28. At least 11 people were killed, while more than 400 passengers and crew members were rescued in a huge operation, amid bad weather conditions with low temperatures, rough seas and strong winds.
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