Crew members of casualty fishing vessel, MFV Armana safely back in Cape Town; but vessel missing and presumed sunken: SAMSA

_{The casualty fishing vessel, MFV Armana photographed while drifting after it was abandoned by its 20 member crew on discovery of fire on board on Sunday and before it vanished during the early hours of Monday morning in an ocean location some 57 nautical miles south of Gansbaai in South Africa’s Western Cape province. (Photo: Supplied)}

Cape Town: 14 October 2024

Twenty crew members of a casualty fishing vessel abandoned at sea on Sunday after it caught fire arrived safely and were disembarked in Cape on Sunday night, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) confirmed on Monday.

However, a search for the vessel had since been called off on Monday afternoon after sight of her was lost after midnight on Sunday, and was now presumed sunken, reported SAMSA.

The fiery incident involving the 62 year old MVF Armana and which led to her abandonment by her crew after a fire onboard occurred early on Sunday (13 October 2024) while she was located approximately 60 Nautical Miles offshore from Gansbaai.

_{Crew members of the casualty MFV Armana being rescued on Sunday after their fishing vessel had caught fire and had to be abandoned. They arrived safely in Cape Town on Sunday evening. (Photo: Supplied)}

In a statement, SAMSA said: “The South African Maritime Safety Authority (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.

“The 20 member crew of the vessel arrived safely at 19h45 (local time) in Cape Town on Sunday night (13 October) aboard the MFV Ludwani, another of the Sea Harvest Group’s vessels, which had been mobilised to assist with the rescue after the crew of the MFV Armana had to abandon the fishing vessel due to a fire on board.

“Soon after the crew had abandoned the vessel and rescued by the MFV Ludwani, with assistance coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordinating 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 approximately 57 Nautical Miles south of Gansbaai, as well as to arrange salvage of the MVF Armana.

“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 (14 October 2024). A search for the vessel was conducted for several hours early Monday without success, and a decision was taken to call it off at 13h00 on Monday as the vessel is now presumed sunk,” said SAMSA.

SAMSA added that a safety navigational warning was issued to all vessels located in or near the last known ocean position of the casualty fishing vessel, as well as to report any sightings of the MFV Armana. SAMSA said an Incident Management Team remain in constant contact with the owners and all parties concerned.

SAMSA confirmed that it will be investigating the cause of the fire on the casualty fishing vessel, MFV Armana.

Meanwhile, SAMSA further said it had taken note of the Minister of Transport, Ms Barbara Creecy’s directive to the entity on Sunday to conduct an urgent safety inspections of all commercial fishing vessels operating in South African waters.

“SAMSA acknowledges and has taken note of the Minister of Transport, Ms Barbara Creecy’s directive to SAMSA on Sunday to implement a program to develop a more comprehensive fishing vessel safety improvement plan and is committed to work with all fishing industry stakeholders to ensure that we achieve this end goal,” said SAMSA.

End.

Search for yet another fishing vessel crew member called off near Mossel Bay; condolences extended to Namibian family: SAMSA

Pretoria: 02 May 2024

The Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) at the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) Cape Town based Centre for Sea Watch & Response (CSW&R) has extended its condolences to the Namibian family of a fisherman who reportedly went overboard a fishing vessel and presumed dead in South African sea waters on Monday this week.

The sorrowful statement by MRCC Cape Town came with confirmation on Wednesday that a day and night search for the seafarer had been abandoned, with little or no hope of his recovery.

According to the MRCC Cape Town, this was a tragic end to yet another incident in this south-western ocean region of South Africa where, in a space of two weeks, yet another fisher disappeared into the ocean after reportedly falling overboard a fishing vessel.

In an earlier incident on or about 19 April 2024, a skipper of a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB)was confirmed to have passed away after the watercraft in which he was sailing along with two (2) others, reportedly capsized after it was hit by a huge wave at sea in a location of approximately 1.5 nautical miles south of Oliphantsbospunt in the Western Cape.

Shortly after that incident, on 26 April 2024, another fishing vessel, named FV Oceana Amethyst, with 22 crew members onboard, also reportedly experienced problems while out at sea in a location of approximately 20 nautical miles west north- west of Slangkoppunt also in the Western Cape. such that it sank almost immediately due to water intake that reportedly started sipping through its engine room. Fortunately, during that incident, all 22 crew members were rescued on time.

Regarding the latest incident involving the Namibian fisherman, the MRCC said on Tuesday that the casualty occurred on Sunday, 28 April 2024 and shortly after which efforts also involving other nearby vessles, were made to assist the crew of the FV SEAWIN DIAMOND, while out at sea in an ocean location of approximately 142 nautical miles south of Mossel Bay.

“MRCC Cape Town was notified at 22:41 on 28 April by Telkom Maritime Radio of a Man Overboard (MOB) reported by the FV SEAWIN DIAMOND. The vessels position was reported to be approximately 142 NM South from Mossel Bay,” said the MRCC on Wednesday.

It said: “Whilst the vessel was busy setting fishing gear, the captain was alerted by the crew of the MOB incident and a MOB Marker buoy was deployed.

“The Namibian citizen was last seen wearing oil skin and boots but not a life jacket. The casualty vessel tracked the marker buoy in an effort to find the person in water (PIW). An observation of something green, presumed to be an oil skin, was seen disappearing under water but it could not be confirmed to be the PIW.

“A MAYDAY Relay was issued by MRCC Cape Town through Telkom Maritime Radio wherein vessels were requested to divert and render assistance in search of the PIW. The FV BLUEBELL was requested to divert to the reported incident from a position 67NM to the West.

“MRCC Cape Town developed a search area, based on the environmental factors and the time it would take the BLUEBELL to arrive at the incident location, and assigned a relevant search pattern.

“The Search Action Plan was communicated to the BLUEBELL, and it conducted a search along the drift track of the MOB buoy while proceeding to the assigned commence search point. MRCC Cape Town was notified by sunset on 29 April that the BLUEBELL and the SEAWIN DIAMOND had completed their search assignments, with MRCC Cape Town issuing revised search instructions to both vessels in preparation for a nighttime search.

“The nighttime search efforts had to be abandoned due to the lack of night search capabilities of both fishing vessels. MRCC Cape Town requested the frequency of the MAYDAY Relay broadcasted by Telkom Maritime Radio to be increased in the hope that additional resources shall respond.

“With no response to the MAYDAY Relay by 06:00 on 30 April 2024, the distress message was downscaled to an urgency message notifying vessels of the probable search area wherein sightings relating to the missing crewman could be made.

“Unfortunately, by 18:00 on 30 April 2024, with no additional information or sighting reports, all SAR efforts were cancelled with the missing person presumed drowned,” reported the MRCC Cape Town.

The centre added: “MRCC Cape Town expresses condolences to the family and friends of the missing crew member.”

End

Foreign fishing vessel rescue operation underway on Indian Ocean off the coast of Durban: SAMSA

Pretoria: 12 Septembet 2023

A rescue operation for fishermen onboard a Taiwanese vessel reportedly sinking is currently underway some 598 kilometers off the coast of Durban in the Indian Ocean, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reports.

The number of fishermen involved is not yet known, save for a MayDay call recorded from the sinking vessel at about 03.18pm (South African time), said the SAMSA Centre for Sea Watch & Response based Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) in Cape Town. A number of vessels in proximity of the reportedly sinking fishing vessel had since been mobilised to offer assistance, said the MRCC.

According to the MRCC: “MRCC Cape Town was notified at 15:18 today (12 September 2023) by RCC Taipei that the Taiwanese fishing vessel (FV) DER HAE NO 66 was sinking due to flooding in a position approximately 323NM (598km) East-south-east from Durban, and that the Taiwanese fishing vessels DER HAE NO 6 and ZAN LI NO 212 were diverting to assist.

“The weather forecast for the incident position is winds South-east up to 25 knots (approximately 48km/h) and the Sea State being swell of up to 4m mainly south westerly, as per South African Weather Services (SAWS).

“A MAYDAY relay was issued by Telkom Maritime Radio at the request of MRCC Cape Town and the Liqued Natural Gass Carrier, LOBITA was requested to divert and assist after responding.

“The LOBITA was approximately 155NM (287km) west from the incident position. The vessels bulk carrier, GOLDEN EARL, at approximately 35NM (65km) and the crude oil tanker, RED NOVA EARL, at approximately 60NM (111km), were identified on AIS and requested to divert to the incident position for assistance to be rendered.

“This is a developing and dynamic incident with the SAR response being conducted as aligned with the SASAR Act and Policy.”

This blog will update the story as and when new information is shared.

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Salvage operation underway to retrieve stricken SA fishing vessel off the ocean south of Cape Town: SAMSA

Pretoria: 14 April 2023

A salvage operation at sea south of Cape Town has begun on Friday to recover a stricken fishing vessel that caught on fire, leading to its crew of 26 fishermen abandoning it in the early hours of the day, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reported.

SAMSA said the 26 crewmen were safely brought onto dryland early on Friday following a frantic effort involving no less than three ships which had responded to a mayday call by the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre based in Cape Town.

According to the SAMSA Centre for Sea Watch & Response based MRCC; “MRCC Cape Town was informed by Telkom Maritime Radio at 01:00 of the FV requiring immediate assistance due to fire in the engine room. The 26 crew then abandoned ship to life raft sighting the whole fishing vessel to be ablaze,” said the MRCC.

_{A computer generated image of the approximate area in which the SA fishing vessel, FV OLIVIA MARIE was located when it reportedly caught on fire on Friday morning. All 26 crew on board were safely evacuated.}

It added that: “A MAYDAY Relay was issued through Telkom Maritime Radio wherein vessels were requested to render immediate assistance. NSRI Stations Hout Bay and Simon’s Town were activated. The MV AQUA EXPLORE, a Bulk Carrier, and FV UMFONDINI diverted to assist. The AQUA EXPLORE, not being able to recover the survivors from the life raft, remained on-scene until the UMFONDINI arrived.

“All crew were safety transferred to the UMFONDINI with the prevailing winds reported to be South-westerly at 15 knots and a water swell of up to 2.6 metres. The AQUA EXPLORE proceeded with normal voyage.

“FV UMFONDINI was intercepted by NSRI Stations Hout Bay and Simon’s Town after which the OLIVIA MARIE crew were transferred to the NSRI Simon’s Town craft. The survivors were safely delivered to Simon’s Town and transported back to their home base at Hout Bay.

“Efforts from MV AQUA EXPLORE, FV UMFONDINI, NSRI, and Telkom Maritime Radio supported MRCC Cape Town in the successful outcome of this maritime SAR incident.

“A Navigation Warning was issued, requesting vessels to report sightings of the OLIVIA MARIE and the life raft, this being in an effort not only to warn of the possible navigation hazards, but also to assist in the recovery of these craft,” said the MRCC.

Late on Friday, SAMSA said the vessel had since been sighted by another ship, the F/V Langenberg at a point where it was some 3.5 nautical miles from the abandoned fishing vessel, in an approximate position 34 11.8 S018 19.8 E from the Coast South of Scarborough.

“The F/V Langenberg is about 3.5 nautical miles from the abandoned vessel and spotted some debris but not a lot, no smoke on the vessel. Visibility is clear. SW wind force 5 of the current Is pushing Olivia Marie to the shallow waters.”

Efforts will continue to recover the abandoned vessel.

End

Twenty two fishermen rescued from a sunken vessel off Cape South Coast. Authorities to investigate: SAMSA

Rescue effort — (File photo) Sailors rescued off the coast off the coast of South Africa

CAPE TOWN: 08 December 2017

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) says it will begin investigation into the sinking of a fishing vessel in the Western Cape early on Friday morning and from which about 22 fishermen were successfully rescued.

According to SAMSA in a statement on Friday morning, the incident involving the fishing vessel, Ellis C, owned by the Selvak Investments group, got into trouble and sunk in rough sea conditions shortly after its entire crew of 22 was rescued some 70 kilometers south west of Danger Point off the Cape South Coast.

The SAMSA statement issued about an hour ago read as follows:

Cape Town, South Africa, December 08, 2017: The South African Maritime Safety Authority’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) coordinated the rescue of 22 crew members in the early hours of this morning after their fishing boat encountered rough seas approximately 70km south west of Danger Point off the Cape South Coast.

The fishing vessel Ellis C, owned by Sevlak Investments, sunk after the crew was rescued.

The vessel took in water after wrestling with waves of approximately three to four meters in height and with wind blowing at around 30km per hour.

MRCC received a distress signal at 00h:49am this morning (Friday) via the Maritime Radio Service, that the fishing vessel was taking in water and starting to sink.

MRCC Chief, Jared Blows said they acted promptly to coordinate the rescue. “MRCC also used the Automatic Identification System installed at the centre for monitoring vessels to quickly identify which vessel it was and as well contacted vessels that were in close proximity to the scene.”

“Vessels that were identified to be the closest to the scene were requested to change course to the location to assist.”

First on the scene was the I&J fishing vessel Fuchsia, following was the Realka and finally the Singaporean flagged motor tanker Aral Sea.

The Fuchsia, even with waves breaking over the stern of the partially submerged Ellis S, was able to go alongside it and transfer all 22 crew on board.

The Aral Sea stood by and provided lighting using its spotlights thereby enabling an easier handling of the transfer.

All crew members were brought to safety on board the Fuchsia. The distressed vessel sunk within minutes of them being saved from it.

The National Sea Rescue Institute was initially dispatched to assist. However, nearby ships came to the rescue.

“Rescue efforts concluded at 08:24 this morning when all rescued crew were landed safely ashore in Hermanus.”

The Fuchsia proceeded towards Hermanus with the assistance of the NSRI. The crew of the Ellis S were taken ashore to waiting medical services and other relevant authorities who attended to them.

SAMSA will conduct further investigations as to what caused the vessel to flood and eventually sink.

End

Fishing vessels due for display of flag State on international waters: IMO

Pretoria: 27 October 2017

Fishing vessels on international waters may soon be expected to display their identities prominently, in the form of flags of States in which they registered, should the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Assembly pass a resolution proposing this at its scheduled meeting in November 2017.

This is according to the IMO in an article published on Thursday reflecting on progress achieved during a five day seminar for Anglophone African countries held in Cape Town a week ago focused on an agreement on global fishing vessels safety being canvassed for ratification and implementation.

The seminar at the Castle of Good Hope from Monday to Friday (16-20 October) was the second for African countries and seventh in the series since the founding of the IMO ‘Cape Town Agreement by 58 countries in the same city five years ago.

Ms Sandra Allnut. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) head of Maritime Technology Safety Division.

Ms Sandra Rita Allnut, the head of Maritime Technology in IMO’s Maritime Safety Division led the IMO team for the Cape Town seminar attended by 10 Africa Anglophone region countries last week, and in her view, the gathering achieved its main objectives.

Earlier seminars organized jointly by the IMO and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) were held in the Cook Islands (28 August – 1 September 2017), also involving 10 countries in the Pacific region; in Côte d’Ivoire (December 2016), for 12 countries from the Africa Francophone region; in Indonesia (April 2015), for 11 countries from the East Asia region; in Belize (October 2014), for 13 countries in the Caribbean; and in Peru (June 2014), for 12 countries in Latin America.

The aim of these seminars according to Ms Allnut was to promote ratification of The Cape Town Agreement 2012 as a means to bringing into effect the provisions of the 1977 Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, which was later modified by the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol.

In ratifying the 2012 Agreement, she said, IMO member States would be giving consent to amendments to the provisions of the 1993 Protocol, thereby facilitating their coming into force as soon as possible thereafter.

In terms of the arrangement this would require at least 22 IMO member States to give effect to the treaty coming into force in no less than 12 months after endorsement.

However, additional conditions include that the agreement ratifying member States operating on the high seas would need to have an aggregate 3,600 fishing vessels of 24 m in length and over, collectively.

So far, only seven countries have ratified the Cape Town Agreement: Congo, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway and South Africa and together, they have an aggregate stock of 884 fishing vessels of 24 m in length and over, operating on the high seas.

At conclusion of last week’s seminar at Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town, an undertaking was given that South Africa, actively and closely working with the IMO, would assist African countries with legal and technical expertise where needed.

South Africa would also share such other expertise as may be necessary including a draft of regulations aimed at giving effect to ratification and implementation of the IMO Cape Town Agreement.

Meanwhile, in an article by the IMO on Thursday, reflecting on the South Africa hosted seminar last week, the organization said moves to promote global safety of both fishing vessels as well as fishing workers were gaining ground in a number of key areas.

According to the IMO, these included the entry into force of treaties under the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the FAO – among these, the ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention 2007 (Convention No. 188) effective 16 November 2017.

The treaty sets minimum requirements for work on board fishing vessels, including hours of rest, food, minimum age and repatriation.

In addition, a number of proposals to address illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, focusing on key areas of vessel identification; flag and port state performance; training and implementation of relevant instruments; and environmental issues were recently agreed by the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III).

In further progress, in late November 2017, the IMO Assembly is expected to adopt a resolution to extend the IMO ship identification number scheme, on a voluntary basis, to all fishing vessels that are more than 12 metres in length and authorized to operate outside waters under national jurisdiction of the flag State.

According to the IMO, the move is anticipated to contribute to the maintenance of a global record on registered fishing vessels.

To read the full IMO report published on Thursday, Click Here

End

Fishermen safely evacuated from sinking vessel in a dramatic rescue off the west coast of Western Cape

Port Nolloth: 24 April 2017

Six fishermen were successfully evacuated from a fishing vessel off the west coast near Port Nolloth in the Western Cape during the early hours of Friday in a dramatic rescue that ensued following to the vessel running aground.

In command of the rescue effort was South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) surveyor and acting Principal Officer for the Port Nolloth region, Captain Justin Coraizin and a De Beers/SAPS team, during which Capt Coraizin personally saw to it that the men were safely evacuated in conditions he described as extremely dangerous.

Capt Coraizin said the Luderitz registered vessel, MV. Fukula, (previously, African Bounty) apparently drifted and ran aground in an unhospitable area off the Atlantic Ocean some 12,7 nautical miles, south of Port Nolloth while on route to Saldanha Bay.

Fishing vessel MV Fukula almost two-thirds deep in water after running aground off the west coast of the Western Cape. A rope used to evacuate its 6-crew member can be seen on the left of the picture, while equipment to contain a fuel spillage is also visible to the right of the vessel.

“It is not clear yet how the vessel got involved in the accident in clear calm seas. When we reached it, it was already two-thirds underwater and we immediately made the effort to rescue the 6-member crew, using ropes. The vessel is lying in a very difficult position that makes it hard to reach from the shore,” said Capt Coraizin

He described the area as being in the vicinity of De Beers mining area in the Atlantic Ocean and the site of the accident as being very remote, only reachable with off-road vehicles as the terrain is very rocky and sandy.

SHOCKED BUT SAFE: The 6-member crew of the MV Fukula which was evacuated in a dramatic rescue operation off the west coast of the Western Cape after its fishing vessel went aground in unhospitable terrain some 12.7 nautical miles south of Port Nolloth. They are (From Left), Mr Nkandi Lysias (skipper), Mr Simon Shikong (mate), Philemon Mbungu (chief engineer), Mr Shimbilinga Hafeni (bosun), Mr Petrus Nekamba (cook) and Mr Matthew Theodore (deck hand)

Shortly after the accident, the crew raised an alarm that was picked by the SAMSA Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Cape Town and to which Captain Cozairin and the charter vessel the Aukwatowa which was the first responded to the scene from the local port in Port Nolloth.

He said the vessel Aukwatowa had been first to reach the scene within a hour and half after incident occurred, and whereupon arrival, a rubber duck team was launched to investigate the accident. However due to dark conditions, this first effort was abandoned.

“However, we were lucky that our efforts worked well from the onset. We threw rope and it connected the first time, and after tightening it hard around some rocks, we managed to get each crewmen to climb towards shore and fortunately, each one of them was safely evacuated. The rescue effort took about 45 minutes,” said Capt Coraizin.

The rescue team had very limited – less than an hour window to get the crew to safety as the tide was coming in, said Capt Coraizin.

THE RESCUE TEAM: Captain Justin Coraizin (second left in green overalls) with members of the rescue team that braved and early morning to evacuate a crew of fishing vessel that went aground off the Atlantic Ocean coast on Friday night.

He said the fishing vessel had about 2500liters of diesel onboard and it appeared to be leaking. “We are closely monitoring the situation and taking such measures are are necessary to contain any spillage while we continue with our investigation of the incident,” he said.

End

Fire on Korean fishing vessel at port of Cape Town under control: port services uninterrupted

Pretoria: Sunday, 19 February 2017

sam_3530-2 — Korean fishing vessel, the No.101 GEUMJEONG listing to port as firefighters continued to battle a blaze on board in Cape Town on Sunday.

Port authorities at the port of Cape Town, working closely with the city’s firefighting services team, have managed to keep under control a raging fire that broke out on board a Korea fishing vessel, the No.101 Geumjeong on Saturday morning, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reported Sunday.

sam_3528 “The fire is under control, but has spread to the back (aft) of the vessel. The City of Cape Town Fire Services are rendering boundary cooling from the quay side and a TNPA tug from the waterside. The vessel is still listing to port and is trimmed by the stern, limiting firefighting capabilities on board,” said SAMSA acting Principal Officer for Cape Town, Captain Antoinette Keller.

According to Capt. Keller, the incident also has had no impact on shipping and posed no pollution risk currently even as pollution equipment was kept on standby should deployment become necessary.

Heavy smoke could be seen from a quite a distance in Cape Town yesterday after a fishing vessel docked at a repair quay caught alight in the early hour of Saturday. — Heavy smoke could be seen from a quite a distance in Cape Town yesterday after a fishing vessel docked at a repair quay caught alight in the early hours of Saturday.

Capt. Keller said local authorities were alerted to the fire on board the No.101 Geumjeong at about 1.20am Saturday, prompting the City of Cape Town Fire Department to race to the scene – a repair quay at the port of Cape Town – where they were joined by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) crews.

“There is no reported loss of life and all individuals are accounted for. Currently there is no personnel on board and the fire is being addressed via boundary cooling for safety reasons, both from shore side and sea side. The vessels in the immediate vicinity have been safely moved to alternate berths,” she said.

According to Capt. Keller, an investigation will be conducted by SAMSA into the cause of the fire as soon as it has been put out.

Meanwhile in Port Elizabeth, where a cargo vessel had to make an emergency docking earlier in the week after it also caught on fire while sailing towards the Cape Peninsula, mopping up operations continued following to successful evacuation and dousing out of the fire.

Liberia flagged cargo vessel, APL Austria resting uneasily at the port of Ngqrurha near Port Elizabeth yesterday as a mop up phase began after rescue operations succeeded in putting out a raging fire on board the vessel since Sunday afternoon.

“Mop-up operations and discharge of damaged containers are in progress, and causalty/incident investigation is in progress,” confirmed Captain Daron Burgess.

End