National Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has ordered urgent safety inspections of all commercial fishing vessels operating in South African waters after 20 crewmen had to evacuate their vessel that had caught alight off the Gansbaai coast on Sunday.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) confirmed the 62-year-old MVF Armana, which belongs to the Sea Harvest group, had a fire on board in the early hours of Sunday 13 October approximately 60 nautical miles offshore from Gansbaai.
Initial reports indicated the vessel was sinking, but subsequent information received by the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC), located at the Samsa Centre for Sea Watch and Response in Cape Town, indicated that the 20 crew members had to abandon the fishing vessel due to a fire on board.
Samsa confirmed that all 20 crew members of the vessel had been rescued, are confirmed unharmed and were on their way back to Cape Town aboard the MFV Ludwani, which was another of the Sea Harvest Group’s vessels in the area at the time of the call.
The Sea Harvest Group Limited (Sea Harvest) confirmed that the MFV Armana, one of the vessels within its Viking Fishing Division, had a fire on board offshore from Gansbaai in the early hours of Sunday.
“This is a very unfortunate incident,” said Madoda Khumalo, a Corporate Executive at Sea Harvest.
“However, we are thankful that the crew managed to get off the vessel and that they have been reunited with their families.
“Each crew member was examined by a medical practitioner and has been offered counselling support.”
The company further stated that a Sea Harvest vessel together with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) is monitoring the area where the incident occurred.
On Monday, the MFV Armana was still adrift 57 nautical miles south of Gansbaai, and Samsa had instructed the owner to secure the services of a tug to tow the stricken vessel to a safe place of refuge and to appoint a salvor.
Meanwhile, Samsa’s Incident Management Team is coordinating with all relevant parties involved in the incident.
In light of this, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy ordered urgent safety inspections of all commercial fishing vessels operating in South African waters.
She expressed concern over the increasing number of incidents at sea, highlighting that five significant accidents this year have resulted in the loss of 18 lives.
Creecy instructed Samsa board chair Fakir Mahesh to take immediate action to improve the safety of the fishing fleet in the country.
“Samsa has also been instructed to develop a fishing vessel safety improvement plan aimed at preventing future incidents and ensuring that vessels operating in our waters meet the highest safety standards.
“The safety of maritime workers is a matter of national priority.”
Samsa is also investigating the MVF Armana fire to determine its cause and whether any safety regulations were breached.
