Barbara Creecy, the Minister overseeing Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, is scheduled to meet with the families affected by the sinking of the Sea Harvest trawler. The vessel, MFV Lepanto, sank about 64 km off the coast of Hout Bay on Friday, 19 May.
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Out of the 20 crew members aboard, nine were successfully rescued and arrived safely in Cape Town on Friday night aboard the MFV Armana, another vessel from the same group that was nearby when the distress call was made. Tragically, eleven individuals are presumed to have lost their lives in the incident.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment in the Western Cape reported a lack of sighting reports and adverse weather conditions, which led the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) to call off the search and rescue operation.
Creecy is anticipated to convene with the affected families at Sea Harvest in Table Bay Harbour, Cape Town, at 11am on Wednesday.
Felix Ratheb, the CEO of Sea Harvest, expressed, ‘Ensuring the safety of our crew members at sea remains our utmost priority. As a company, we are deeply saddened by this unfortunate event.
‘We have been in ongoing contact with the families, with a senior team and a counsellor visiting each family of the missing men,’ Ratheb said.
‘We will continue to support them, as well as the rescued men and their families.’
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Picture: OJ Koloti / Gallo Images