Eighteen Filipino crew members of the general cargo vessel Ultra Galaxy were rescued after they were discovered in a life raft off the West Coast on Monday, 8 July.
Tebogo Ramatjie, a spokesperson for the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), said the crew had ‘abandoned the heavily listing vessel’ in the Atlantic Ocean when it experienced trouble approximately 60 nautical miles west of Doring Bay.
Also read: Seafarer evacuated from storm-battered vessel in False Bay
‘An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) alert was detected at 3am local time, prompting an immediate response by the Samsa Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Cape Town,’ said Ramatjie.
Two nearby cargo vessels were dispatched to the location of the alert to investigate the situation, according to Ramatjie, as reported by News24.
‘We are relieved to report that all crew members have been accounted for and are safely aboard the MFV Malachite,’ said Ramatjie.
The crew members arrived at St Helena Bay on Tuesday morning, 9 July, and will be transported to Cape Town to continue with their trip. In addition, a navigation warning was issued for the drifting vessel, according to Samsa.
This rescue comes amid a severe weather warning that’s ‘likely to affect seafarers’, as another cold front is moving into the Northern Cape and Western Cape, bringing strong and gusty westerly to north-westerly winds along.
This weather pattern is expected to continue until late Thursday, 11 July.
The areas that are affected by the weather conditions include the southern Namakwa district, Central Karoo, the City of Cape Town, Cape Winelands, Overberg, and the western Garden Route.
On Tuesday, 9 July, a Level 4 warning was issued by the South African Weather Service (SAWS) that indicated a ‘significant weather event’ with winds anticipated to range from 50 to 90kph.
Coastal regions, particularly between Lambert’s Bay and Cape Agulhas, are the most likely to experience disruptions starting from Tuesday and continuing until late Thursday morning, which will spread to Mossel Bay by Wednesday, 10 July.
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Picture: @SAMSAMARITIME / X