The Mykonos Magic ship, renamed Goddess of the Night, which should have hosted 2,500 agents and judicial police officers, employed in order and security services for the G7. The measure was ordered by the Brindisi Prosecutor’s Office.
Complaints from police unions
The central operational service of the State Police and the policemen of the flying squad started the investigations following the complaint presented by various trade unions, which highlighted the “serious critical issues reported by the police force personnel assigned to the security and order services public”, already boarded the ship owned by the company Mykonos Magica Inc for accommodation in the cabins. The elements “collected so far by the state police and the need for further investigative investigations, including those of a technical nature – explains a note – have made it necessary to adopt the decree for the seizure of the motor vessel”. In carrying out the seizure, in addition to the police personnel, there were the port master’s office and the Nas carabinieri.
The news of the kidnapping was immediately commented on by the secretary of the Coisp police union, Domenico Pianese, who recalled how the ship “was in terrible sanitary conditions, with dirty and damaged accommodation, unusable toilets, dilapidated showers, flooded cabins”. So much so that in the previous days it was necessary to transfer 1,200 operators to hotel facilities in the six provinces of Puglia.
The new ship in port for 600
Meanwhile, the “Gnv Azzurra” arrived in Brindisi this morning, the replacement ferry ship which will host around 600 law enforcement operators committed to ensuring the security of the G7. But the new boat would also have shortcomings, according to a note from Siap (Italian police union) Puglia. «We have received – we read – numerous reports regarding the quality of the accommodation provided for State Police personnel. In particular, many colleagues complain of having been transferred from an already critical situation to an even more inadequate solution: the use of the GNV Azzurra ferry.”
«There is evident disappointment – the union adds – among the staff regarding the treatment received during the current event, especially when compared with previous experiences, such as the G7 in Taormina, where the accommodation conditions were decidedly better and more respectful of dignity and of the professional role of the operators. The attitude among operators is one of growing frustration and indignation.” According to the Puglia secretariat of Siap «it is unacceptable that the State Police personnel, involved in an event of such international importance, are treated in such an inadequate way. We ask that alternative accommodation solutions be provided in accommodation facilities, which respect the dignity and professional role of the operators, and that a dignified and safe working condition be restored.”
