A fire broke out on board a fishing vessel around 60 nautical miles offshore from Gansbaai during the early hours of Sunday, forcing its crew to abandon ship.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) confirmed this on Sunday.
According to the authority, there were early signs that the 62-year-old MFV Armana was sinking.
The 20 crew members aboard the fishing vessel were forced to abandon it because of a fire, according to later information received by the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC), which is located at the SAMSA Centre for Sea Watch and Response in Cape Town.
“Fortunately, all 20 crew members of the vessel have been rescued, are confirmed unharmed, and are on their way back to Cape Town aboard the MFV Ludwani – another of the Sea Harvest Group’s vessels that was in the area at the time of the call. She is estimated to arrive at 20:00 (local time) tonight, and will be met by SAMSA on arrival,” said the authority.
The families of the rescued crew have been notified, and the company is keeping them updated.
The MFV Armana is currently adrift 57 nautical miles south of Gansbaai, and being monitored by the MFV Harvest Saldanha.
The authority said it had advised the owner to hire a tug to tow the stricken vessel to a safe place of refuge and to appoint a salvor. The SAMSA incident management team is in contact with the owners and all parties concerned.
