Search called off for skipper

THE search for Carlo Gordon of Walvis Bay, the captain of Hangana’s fishing trawler, the Resplendent, was called off yesterday.

The vessel sunk off the coast north of Henties Bay, while it was on a fishing mission on Tuesday.

Of the 27 crew members, 26 were rescued and arrived at the Hangana fishing factory yesterday before being taken to a hospital.

Although this newspaper could not officially confirm comments from various sources by the time of going to print, it is understood that Gordon went missing while he was trying to save some of the crew members.

Sources suggested the vessel sank very quickly.

Three other vessels, which were in the vicinity, responded to the Resplendent’s distress call just after 13h00. A search-and-rescue mission, which consisted of seven vessels, was deployed yesterday morning to continue searching for Gordon.

The 24-hour procedural search continued until 15h00.

A continual call for prayer for his safety was posted over social media from friends and family.

“While we are all deeply touched by the unfortunate incident, we are pleased that the Fisher Bank (one of the rescue vessels) docked this morning with all the crew on-board, except the Resplendent’s captain, Carlo Gordon,” said Ohlthaver & List (O&L) spokesperson Roux-che Locke said yesterday.

“We are immensely grateful for the safety and successful rescue of 26 of our crew members. They were issued with dry clothes on their return this morning and referred to hospital for medical attention to determine their well-being.”

Hangana Seafood is a subsidiary of O&L. She said the crew also received support through trauma debriefing and counselling sessions, employees and families. The Gordon family will continue to receive the necessary support from the company, she said.

Late yesterday afternoon, the Ministry of Works and Transport public relations officer Julias Ngweda issued a statement in which he confirmed that Gordon had not been found and that it was “feared he may have gone down with the vessel”.

Vessels in the vicinity have been urged though to report any sighting of the body for possible recovery.

It is further stated that 23 of the 26 rescued crewmembers have already been discharged from the hospital while three remain for observation.

The directorate will commission a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the “unfortunate incident”, Ngweda said, saying the investigating team will be made up of a master mariner, a retired skipper and two government marine surveyors.

The investigation will start today (Thursday) and a final report is expected by 20 March.

The trawler’s safety certificate was valid till 23 October. It was renewed in October last year. The Resplendent was one of eight vessels in Hangana’s fleet, and it was one of the most recently built and acquired vessels.

“According to international customary maritime law, ship captains must follow principles of prudent seamanship – which means taking responsibility for the safety of others on-board before their own. We are told that this is exactly what skipper Gordon did.

“He joins a distinguished list of ship captains, who, in the face of imminent and grave danger to themselves, chose to be the last one off, if not the one to go down with the ship. This is exemplary seamanship and we thank skipper Gordon for his exceptional act of bravery,” the statement concluded.

attempted to contact the Gordon family at his home but there was no answer.

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