Si

The commander of this Venetian fleet is actually a 'good old friend' of Antonius called Benedetto Vitturi, yes, if anyone remembers, this guy was the ruler of Candia when Antonius paid Krete a visit to do something that no one remembers more than a decade back. Governor Benedetto stepped down soon after Antonius' visit going back to Venezia to serve as a savii del consiglio in charge of carrying out government policies, then just a year ago, by God's grace the man is not yet, he became the admiral for the Venetian fleet, due to the fact of his long service and bearing the family crest of the Vitturi family. 

Benedetto saw Antonius as nothing but a pawn back then, hoping that he would stir up the Ottoman's trade route in the Aegean and keep them busy from contesting with Venetian influence in the region. Though it seems like the pawn back then is a little way too successful now.