3 feared dead in trawler tragedy

THREE people are feared dead after tragedy struck off the Namibian coast on Wednesday when a vessel, the MFV Diaz, caught fire at sea.

By late yesterday afternoon, the chances of finding the missing fishermen alive were almost zero. Twenty-three crew members survived.Diaz Trawling has yet to reveal the names of the dead crew members and the extent of the damage to the vessel.According to Eric Shitana, Secretary General of the Namibian Seamen and Allied Workers’ Union, the missing men are two Spanish citizens and one Namibian.They were the chief engineer, first engineer and greaser and were working in the engine room where the explosion happened.”Everything happened suddenly.The crew members saw smoke coming out and the fire was spreading fast.Unfortunately, the people with the right information about what happened were in the engine room.They are no more with us,” Shitana said.He visited the other 23 crew members at Walvis Bay yesterday morning and also conveyed his condolences to the company.”They are all in shock because they lost colleagues but they are coping.We could not spend a lot of time or ask too many questions,” Shitana said.The union leader described the incident as “a big loss”, not only to the company but also to Namibia’s economy.Ron Walters, spokesperson of Diaz Trawling, which is owned by the NovaNam Group of Companies, said MFV Diaz was fishing on the 25th parallel at around 18h10 on Wednesday when a loud explosion was heard from the engine room.”This explosion rapidly developed into a sudden and uncontrollable fire and the captain decided that all crew were to abandon ship once it was determined that the fire had reached a point where it was endangering the lives of the crew onboard,” Walters said in a statement.Five other fishing vessels operating in the area immediately made their way towards the stricken vessel and at 19h45, three lifeboats carrying the crew were found.They were safely plucked from the lifeboats by the crew of Pescanova’s MFV Komukandi, which took them back to Walvis Bay for medical treatment.The Port Control Officer at Luederitz, Shadrack Kamwi, said they received radio communication from Walvis Bay to inform them about the incident and the damage to the vessel was reportedly extensive.The fate of the vessel was not clear by yesterday afternoon.Kamwi’s counterpart at the Port of Walvis Bay, John Shelley, confirmed the incident, saying they were contacted first and co-ordinated the rescue operation.He was, however, unable to provide more details.Walters flew from Luederitz to Walvis Bay yesterday morning with, among others, NovaNam Group Chairman Angel Tordesillas.They were in a meeting with NamPort officials for the whole afternoon.Twenty-three crew members survived.Diaz Trawling has yet to reveal the names of the dead crew members and the extent of the damage to the vessel.According to Eric Shitana, Secretary General of the Namibian Seamen and Allied Workers’ Union, the missing men are two Spanish citizens and one Namibian.They were the chief engineer, first engineer and greaser and were working in the engine room where the explosion happened.”Everything happened suddenly.The crew members saw smoke coming out and the fire was spreading fast.Unfortunately, the people with the right information about what happened were in the engine room.They are no more with us,” Shitana said.He visited the other 23 crew members at Walvis Bay yesterday morning and also conveyed his condolences to the company. “They are all in shock because they lost colleagues but they are coping.We could not spend a lot of time or ask too many questions,” Shitana said. The union leader described the incident as “a big loss”, not only to the company but also to Namibia’s economy.Ron Walters, spokesperson of Diaz Trawling, which is owned by the NovaNam Group of Companies, said MFV Diaz was fishing on the 25th parallel at around 18h10 on Wednesday when a loud explosion was heard from the engine room.”This explosion rapidly developed into a sudden and uncontrollable fire and the captain decided that all crew were to abandon ship once it was determined that the fire had reached a point where it was endangering the lives of the crew onboard,” Walters said in a statement.Five other fishing vessels operating in the area immediately made their way towards the stricken vessel and at 19h45, three lifeboats carrying the crew were found.They were safely plucked from the lifeboats by the crew of Pescanova’s MFV Komukandi, which took them back to Walvis Bay for medical treatment.The Port Control Officer at Luederitz, Shadrack Kamwi, said they received radio communication from Walvis Bay to inform them about the incident and the damage to the vessel was reportedly extensive.The fate of the vessel was not clear by yesterday afternoon.Kamwi’s counterpart at the Port of Walvis Bay, John Shelley, confirmed the incident, saying they were contacted first and co-ordinated the rescue operation.He was, however, unable to provide more details.Walters flew from Luederitz to Walvis Bay yesterday morning with, among others, NovaNam Group Chairman Angel Tordesillas.They were in a meeting with NamPort officials for the whole afternoon.