Something fishy about 'stolen' Omani trawler

SOUTH Africa has sailed into a diplomatic storm over a foreign-owned ship held in Cape Town harbour for about a year.

The fishing trawler is owned by a company based in Oman, which is demanding its release. The ship was impounded in March last year carrying a full load of fish.

South African authorities claim the ship is stolen property and that it fished illegally in local waters.

Omani embassy spokesman Said al Araimi said there had been no explanation for the ship's impounding.

South African officials said forensic experts had found that the ship closely matched the Der Hong 569, a Belize-flag ship reported stolen in 2009.

Lawyers representing the Omani owners obtained a high court order for its release, but the National Prosecuting Authority hit back with its own court order to retain the vessel because of alleged illegal activity. The matter appears to have reached a stalemate.

Shaheen Moolla, part of the legal team representing the Omani owners, said they appeared to have run out of money to rescue their ship and that claims of illegal fishing were a "red herring".

But NPA spokesman Nathi Mncube said the owners had a case to answer.