High seas drama off South African coast

JOHANNESBURG – Ten Vietnamese nationals were arrested yesterday following a mutiny on a fishing vessel outside Cape Town’s Table Bay harbour, national police said.

The police’s special task force was flown in from Pretoria, boarded the Taiwanese fishing vessel Balena around 05h30 and arrested 10 of the 29 crew who had taken the captain and first officer hostage, said spokesperson Director Sally de Beer. The 10 did not resist arrest and no force was used. They allegedly commandeered the vessel around 15h00 on Monday, demanding that it enter the harbour. ‘The captain of the vessel was unharmed while the first officer sustained injuries during an assault during the hijacking and was treated by paramedics.’ A team that included the police’s organised crime unit, dog unit, special task force, Western Cape legal services, hostage negotiators and home affairs was assembled and the vessel – which at the time was in international waters – was allowed to enter South African waters. It was boarded before it entered Table Bay. The 10 are currently in custody and faced charges relating to kidnapping and alternatively piracy – which involved any act of violence or detention on the high seas. The other 19 crew members on board played no part in the hijacking, De Beer said. – Nampa-Sapa