A large South African fishing vessel that caught alight in deep sea at the weekend is presumed to have sunk off the Cape coast, the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said on Monday.
All 20 crew of the MFV Armana are safely back on shore after being rescued by another fishing vessel. The incident on Sunday night took place about 60 nautical miles south of Gansbaai in the Western Cape.
Samsa said they had discontinued the search after losing sight of the stricken vessel.
"[Samsa] herewith confirms the safe arrival and disembarkation of all 20 crew members of the abandoned fishing vessel, MFV Armana, at the port of Cape Town last night, as well as the discontinuation of a search for the vessel after sight was lost of it early on Monday.
“Soon after the crew had abandoned the vessel and were rescued by the MFV Ludwani, with assistance co-ordinated by the Maritime Rescue Co-ordinating Centre (MRCC) at the Samsa centre for sea watch and response in Cape Town, measures were taken to both monitor the MFV Armana where it had initially remained adrift at a location about 57 nautical miles south of Gansbaai, as well as to arrange salvage of the MVF Armana,” said Samsa.
“These measures involved the deployment of the MFV Harvest Saldanha for monitoring, as well as the dispatch of the emergency towing vessel (ETV) Umkhuseli, to tow the stricken vessel to a safe place of refuge.
“However, regrettably, sight was eventually lost of the MVF Armana in the early hours of Monday. A search for the vessel was conducted for several hours ... without success, and a decision was taken to call it off at 1pm as the vessel is now presumed sunk.”
A safety navigational warning was issued to vessels passing the stricken vessel’s last known position. “Samsa will be investigating the cause of the fire on the casualty fishing vessel.”
The MFV Armana incident is the latest in a spate of accidents involving South Africa’s fishing industry fleet. In May the Armana rescued several crew of another fishing vessel, the MFV Lepanto, which sank about 56km south of Hout Bay. Eleven crew drowned.
Samsa said it had taken note of transport minister Barbara Creecy’s directive for a new programme to enhance fishing vessel safety.
TimesLIVE
Burning fishing vessel presumed sunk off Cape coast: SA Maritime Safety Authority
20 crew of MFV Armana all rescued and back ashore
Image: Supplied via Samsa
A large South African fishing vessel that caught alight in deep sea at the weekend is presumed to have sunk off the Cape coast, the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said on Monday.
All 20 crew of the MFV Armana are safely back on shore after being rescued by another fishing vessel. The incident on Sunday night took place about 60 nautical miles south of Gansbaai in the Western Cape.
Samsa said they had discontinued the search after losing sight of the stricken vessel.
"[Samsa] herewith confirms the safe arrival and disembarkation of all 20 crew members of the abandoned fishing vessel, MFV Armana, at the port of Cape Town last night, as well as the discontinuation of a search for the vessel after sight was lost of it early on Monday.
“Soon after the crew had abandoned the vessel and were rescued by the MFV Ludwani, with assistance co-ordinated by the Maritime Rescue Co-ordinating Centre (MRCC) at the Samsa centre for sea watch and response in Cape Town, measures were taken to both monitor the MFV Armana where it had initially remained adrift at a location about 57 nautical miles south of Gansbaai, as well as to arrange salvage of the MVF Armana,” said Samsa.
“These measures involved the deployment of the MFV Harvest Saldanha for monitoring, as well as the dispatch of the emergency towing vessel (ETV) Umkhuseli, to tow the stricken vessel to a safe place of refuge.
“However, regrettably, sight was eventually lost of the MVF Armana in the early hours of Monday. A search for the vessel was conducted for several hours ... without success, and a decision was taken to call it off at 1pm as the vessel is now presumed sunk.”
A safety navigational warning was issued to vessels passing the stricken vessel’s last known position. “Samsa will be investigating the cause of the fire on the casualty fishing vessel.”
The MFV Armana incident is the latest in a spate of accidents involving South Africa’s fishing industry fleet. In May the Armana rescued several crew of another fishing vessel, the MFV Lepanto, which sank about 56km south of Hout Bay. Eleven crew drowned.
Samsa said it had taken note of transport minister Barbara Creecy’s directive for a new programme to enhance fishing vessel safety.
TimesLIVE
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