Pretoria: 16 April 2024
A desperate sea search for a seafarer believed to have gone overboard off a trade vessel in the Mozambique channel continued overnight on Monday, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reported on Tuesday.
According to the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) based at the SAMSA Centre for Sea Watch and Response in Cape Town, the search for the seafarer, a crew member of a bulk carrier named KAVO PERDIKA, ensued early on Monday after the vessel reported the crew member as missing and suspected to have gone overboard.
Shortly thereafter, two other vessels sailing in the vicinity were summoned for assistance and soon joined the search, but without success, and had since been released to continue with their respective journeys, while the casualty vessels remains in search of the crew member.
Said SAMSA: “MRCC Cape Town was notified by Telkom Maritime Radio around 10am of a Man Overboard (MOB) distress alert received from the Bulk Carrier KAVO PERDIKA and that the MV MEGHNA PRESTIGE was assisting with search efforts.
“The vessel was reported to be in a position approximately 300km north-east from Inhambane in the Mozambican channel. It was reported to MRCC Cape Town that the 37-year-old Ukrainian was last seen around 5am, not wearing a life jacket. Shortly thereafter only his slippers and cigarettes were found where he was last seen.
“A MAYDAY Relay, being a RCC request for immediate SAR assistance, was issued on the request of MRCC Cape Town through Telkom Maritime Services.
“The casualty vessel, KAVO PERDIKA, had reverted back to the position where it was reported to the captain, that the crewman was missing. This position, being approximately 300km north-east from Inhambane in the Mozambican channel, was approximately three (3) hours’s sailing from the position where the crewman was last seen.”
The MRCC said due to the MAYDAY Relay, the MV UMM AL AMAD, responded and diverted to assist in the search efforts.
“After evaluating the facts, factors, possibilities, and probabilities, considering the environmental factors of south-easterly winds at approximately 40km/h, a south-south-easterly sea swell of up to 3m and a strong south-westerly sea current, search patterns were assigned to three (3) different search craft.
“By sunset today (Monday), all the craft had completed their assigned search patterns without the crewman being found. The casualty vessel KAVO PERDIKA, had been given another search pattern whilst the UMM AL AMAD and the MEGHNA PRESTIGE were released by the SAR Mission Coordinator to continue with normal operations.
“The SAR response shall be evaluated when the KAVO PERDIKA completed the latest search pattern. MRCC Cape Town requested an urgency message requesting vessels to recover and report the crewman if sighted along the predicted search track. This urgency message shall remain affective until 16:00 after which all search efforts shall be discontinued, pending additional information to motive the continuing of the search efforts.”
According to SAMSA, the MRCC Cape Town having also noted the proximity of the sea area of the incident to neighbouring Mozambique, “…. attempted to hand over the Search and Rescue coordination for the MOB to MRCC Maputo without success.
“Thus, MRCC Cape Town continued coordinating the SAR response as a Regional MRCC South Africa aligned with the multi-lateral SAR agreement.”
End.