Twenty-four crew on board a fishing trawler have been rescued after the ship ran aground at St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape last night.
A large scale rescue operation was launched after the incident. It included the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), the Transnet Ports Authority, the police and Telkom Maritime Radio Services.
The NSRI’s spokesperson Craig Lambinon describes what happened.
“In calm seas the life-rafts cleared the rocks and drifted seawards. The commercial ski-boat MOI were able to recover 2 casualty crew from a life-raft. NSRI St Francis Bay’s rescue craft Rescue 21 recovered the remaining 22 crew from life-rafts at sea.
“An initial medical evaluation at sea by an NSRI paramedic deemed no casualty crew to be seriously injured. They were brought to the NSRI St Francis Bay Rescue 21 rescue station, in the Port of St Francis, where they were further assessed by paramedics and all crew are not injured.”
The South African Maritime Safety Authority will investigate the grounding of the 29-metre fishing vessel and also assess the possibility of further salvage operations. The ship ran onto rocks at Shark Point.
Lambinon has appealed for caution from curious onlookers.
“We are appealing to public members not to approach the stricken vessel as it remains a danger particularly in the changing tides. While the vessel is aground on rocks, close inshore, that may change with the turning tides during Sunday. The rescue operation was successfully completed by 23h26.”
24 crew members rescued after fishing vessel went aground:
