The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) will recommend that a Marine Court of Enquiry be held regarding the sinking of the Sea Harvest fishing vessel, FV Lepanto, that claimed the lives of 11 seafarers.
“Due to the gravity of the incident and the loss of life one of the recommendations will be a request to the Minister of Transport to constitute a Marine Court of Enquiry in terms of Section 266 of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1951,” the marine authority said in a statement on Wednesday.
The authority said its preliminary “comprehensive investigation” into the sinking of the FV Lepanto, is expected to take up to eight months to be completed.
The vessel sank on May 17 at around 3pm approximately 34 nautical miles west of Slangkop Point Lighthouse at Kommetjie.
A crew of 20 were onboard the distressed vessel but only nine were rescued and brought to shore. The bodies of the 11 fishermen who drowned have not been recovered.
“An investigative team was appointed immediately after the incident and has been diligently gathering information and conducting interviews,” the maritime safety authority said.
“The preliminary enquiry is expected to take six to eight months to complete. The investigative team is currently looking at the following: processing the information gathered, conducting follow-up interviews to ascertain facts with the surviving crew, and considering possible causes for the sinking of the vessel.”
The authority said a preliminary investigative report with recommendations will be compiled and shared with the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, upon completion of the probe, and one of the recommendations would be to ask to her to convene a court enquiry.
A Marine Court of Enquiry is usually convened where there have been major casualties, and if the minister considers that a deeper investigation is necessary and in the public interest.
