Cape Town - The nine fishermen who were rescued from Sea Harvest’s FV Lepanto trawler reported that it took only three minutes for the 35m boat to capsize.
The fishers and their families opened up about their traumatic experience to Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy at Sea Harvest’s office at Table Bay Harbour on Wednesday.
This while 11 of their colleagues remained missing, presumed drowned.
The FV Lepanto, which carried 20 crew members, had been at sea for three days before tragedy struck last Friday.
The nine survivors launched an emergency raft and were picked up by passing vessels that responded to the mayday distress call.
The families said that the meeting with Creecy had brought them clarity.
“We met with the minister and though we have clarity, we will also wait to hear what the others have to say in the next two days when we meet,” said one family member.
Meetings with all the families involved will be held over the next two days, with the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), Creecy and Sea Harvest present.
Creecy said the investigation into the incident would include oral and written evidence from the survivors.
“Essentially, what we know is that (there were) three vessels fishing together, roughly 30 nautical miles offshore from Hout Bay.
“One of the vessels encountered distress and the sister vessel issued the mayday. The vessel that was in distress sank very quickly.
“There were nine crew that were rescued and there are 11 that are still missing, presumed to be deceased at this stage,” said Creecy.
“The history of the vessel, to the repairs conducted, services, all the info will be part of the formal investigation.
“The survivors are still in a state of shock and they are meeting to support each other... The situation is painful and raw.”
Creecy said this was the biggest tragedy in the fishing industry in her five years in office.
“We’ve had a number of smaller accidents. Fishing is a very dangerous industry, but we haven’t had a major industrial accident with fatalities on this scale during my tenure.”
Food and Allied Workers’ Union provincial secretary Zolani Mbanjwa said the survivors described the moment they realised they were sinking.
“The comrades are still traumatised. They said it was a matter of minutes, three minutes, it was very quick. They can’t describe what happened, the next minute the boat was upside down,” Mbanjwa said.
“We think the search was called off too soon. It can’t be easy for the families. We also don’t want to give people hope.
“One of our concerns is the issue of safety at sea. We are going to call all these companies and talk about it.
“Sea-going employees are essential to the economy of this country but they are vulnerable,” Mbanjwa said.
Sea Harvest spokesperson Anthea Abraham said Samsa was conducting an investigation into the incident.
“We do not feel it appropriate to speculate as to the cause of the accident nor enter into public debate around the allegations made, whilst the authority’s investigating is underway.
“We can, however, confirm that the MFV Lepanto, like all Sea Harvest vessels, was governed by a comprehensive maintenance system, with adherence to a robust and ongoing mandatory service regime as prescribed by the authorities.”