News24 | Fire on vessel off Gansbaai prompts transport minister to call for urgent safety inspections

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. (Rasaad Adams/Netwerk24)

• A fishing vessel caught fire on Sunday morning off Gansbaai's coast.
• The 20 crew were rescued unharmed.
• The transport minister has called for an urgent safety inspection of all commercial fishing vessels operating in SA waters.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy called for safety inspections of all commercial fishing vessels operating in South African waters to be carried out urgently after a vessel caught fire on Sunday morning off Gansbaai's coast.

Creecy instructed the South African Maritime Authority (Samsa) to conduct the inspections.

On Sunday, Samsa confirmed that a fire had broken out on the 62-year-old MVF Armana in the early hours of the morning around 60 nautical miles offshore from Gansbaai.

"Initial indications were that the vessel was sinking, but subsequent information received by Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) located at the Samsa Centre for Sea Watch and Response in Cape Town indicated that the 20 crew had to abandon the fishing vessel due to a fire on board," Samsa said.

All the crew members were rescued unharmed.

READ | All crew rescued as fishing vessel catches fire and drifts off Gansbaai

"The MFV Armana is currently adrift 57 nautical miles south of Gansbaai and being monitored by the MFV Harvest Saldanha. Samsa has instructed the owner to secure the services of a tug to tow the stricken vessel to a safe place of refuge and to appoint a salvor," said Samsa.

Creecy said Samsa was investigating the incident to establish the root cause and determine whether any regulatory breaches had occurred.

"I must express my concern about the increasing number of incidents involving fishing vessels in our waters. This year alone, we have witnessed no fewer than five significant incidents, tragically resulting in the loss of 18 lives. Such incidents are deeply concerning, and it is clear that we must take immediate action to improve the safety of our fishing fleet," Creecy said.

"As a result, I have instructed Samsa to conduct safety audit inspections on all fishing vessels operating in South African waters that are in our register and present a report as soon as possible.

"Samsa has also been instructed to develop a fishing vessel safety improvement plan aimed at preventing future incidents and ensuring that vessels operating in our waters meet the highest safety standards. The safety of maritime workers is a matter of national priority," said Creecy.