Tag Archives: Cape Town
Sea Harvest fishing trawler had ‘excellent’ record: Families of lost fishermen pray for miracle
The Sea Harvest fishing trawler that sunk with 20 crew on board had been serviced before it rapidly took water and sunk offshore from Hout Bay. The families of two fishermen still missing at sea remained hopeful yesterday for their loved ones’ return, after the search for 11 fishermen was called off on Sunday. Sea Harvest spokesperson Anthea Abraham said the vessel went for mandatory service. Faadiel Groenewald, 27, and Wilfred Swiers, from Pella near Atlantis, are among those presumed drowned after the trawler, FV Lepanto, sunk at around 35 nautical miles offshore. more, >>CLICK TO READ< 08:11
No hope for 11 missing fishermen
Hopes of finding the remaining 11 fishermen aboard the sunken MFV Lepanto owned by Sea Harvest were dealt a major blow when the search-and-rescue operation was called off on Sunday. The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) launched an investigation after the vessel sank about 34 nautical miles offshore of Hout Bay on Friday afternoon. At least five fishing vessels reached the search area, locating and recovering nine of 20 local fishermen from a life raft. “The nine survivors were not injured and they were brought to the Port of Table Bay aboard a fellow fishing vessel during the night. They are in the care of their fishing company. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:52
9 crewmen rescued, search continues for 11 fishermen missing at sea in Cape Town
The South African Maritime Safety Authority’s (SAMSA) Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), said they received a distress call notifying them of the fishing vessel FV Lepanto, reported to be rapidly sinking, west of Slangkop Lighthouse, at around 15:34 on Friday. “The distress call, received by Telkom Maritime Services, prompted an immediate response. Nearby fishing vessels, FV Harvest Mzansi and FV Armana, responded to the mayday call and proceeded to the scene,” said SAMSA’s Tebogo Ramatjie. Ramatjie added that the FV Armana had successfully rescued nine crew members, leaving 11 others still unaccounted for. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:32
Full investigation into fatal explosion aboard fishing trawler launched
Oceana Group Limited said the fatal explosion aboard one of its fishing trawlers docked near Amawandle Hake in Table Bay Harbour will be fully investigated. Contractors were busy with repairs on board the vessel, identified as the Realeka, at around 5pm on Monday when a nitrogen tank exploded. Five men who were injured in the explosion were transported to a nearby hospital for medical attention, while a 49-year-old man was declared dead at the site. Emergency personnel combed the scene for several hours on Monday night while ventilating the engine room of refrigeration gas, which could be an ammonia-containing combination. A hazmat technician was also present while gas detection meters were requested. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:26
22 fishermen rescued from sinking fishing vessel off the coast of Cape Town
At 09h36, Friday, 26 April, NSRI Hout Bay and NSRI Table Bay duty crews were placed on alert following reports from MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) of a local 35 meter long line fishing trawler taking on water (but under tow and pumping water free) about 30 nautical miles off-shore South West of the Port of Table Bay. A fellow local fishing trawler had taken the casualty fishing trawler under tow. We believe that the local casualty fishing trawler had started taking water in the early hours of the morning and had started heading towards Hout Bay harbour, confident that they would reach the harbour in good time. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:42
Fishing Rights: Small Scale Fishermen walkout of meeting with ministry over rock lobster suspension
Small-scale and near-shore fishers walked out of a meeting in Cape Town with the deputy director-general for Fisheries Siphokazi Ndudane yesterday, saying her explanations relating to the suspension of the West Coast rock lobster fishing rights allocation were not sufficient. Earlier, angry fishers blocked the entrance to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries offices on the Foreshore again, protesting the outcome of the fishing rights allocation process and blocking entry into the offices. “We are asking for (Ndudane) and the minister to postpone the proposed reductions (of fishing allocations) on the rock lobster and stop the offshore allocations of commercial companies. click here to read the story 20:30
The man who destroyed the West Coast rock lobster
It took only 14 years for Cape Town businessman Arnold Bengis to decimate one of South Africa’s most treasured marine species. Now he is being made to pay by a US court‚ which has ordered the 81-year-old to cough up $37-million (about R483-million) for pillaging thousands of tons of rock lobster. South Africa will be the first foreign government in the world to be compensated under a 117-year-old US law‚ the Lacey Act‚ which regulates imports of protected species.,,, Former DAFF head of fisheries Horst Kleinschmidt‚ who testified in the District Court in 2004 about Bengis’s fishing activities‚ quoted research that suggested that free-falling rock lobster stocks “immediately stabilised” after his operation was stopped. click here to read the story 11:53
