Deputy sheriff of court dies in ladder fall

29 January 2018 - 10:27 By Angela Daniels
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Henry Kemp, 42, had been a sheriff for about 20 years.
Henry Kemp, 42, had been a sheriff for about 20 years.
Image: HeraldLIVE

Police and the South African Maritime Safety Authority are investigating the death of a deputy sheriff of the court‚ who plunged at least 8m into the ocean while climbing a steep ladder to execute a warrant of arrest on Liberian vessel the Blue Marlin I.

Why the 190m Blue Marlin was to be arrested is not known as the paperwork authorising the arrest was lost when Port Elizabeth North deputy sheriff Henry Kemp fell into the sea on Saturday night.

Kemp‚ 42‚ had been a sheriff for about 20 years‚ his boss‚ sheriff Llewellyn Sharp‚ said on Sunday.

Kemp had boarded a Port of Ngqura pilot boat to make his way out to the 32 957-ton Blue Marlin and had almost reached the top of the ladder in his quest to board the ship “when he paused for about two minutes before falling backwards”‚ Sharp said.

The ship was four nautical miles from the Port of Port Elizabeth‚ about halfway between the two ports.

Calling Kemp honest and helpful‚ Sharp said: “He had been tasked by the high court to arrest a vessel late [on Saturday].

The Herald 


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