Bodies will not be retrieved from the sunken trawler Lindsay because of the great depth at which the vessel lies, the ship’s owners said on Wednesday.
”We have taken advice from experts and have been told that the Lindsay lies about 150m below the surface of sea,” said Craig Bacon, a director of Viking Inshore Fishing.
He said it is too deep for divers to reach as they will not safely be able to cope with the 14 bars of pressure at that depth. Normal safety standards restrict recreational divers to about 40m, but technical divers have been known to reach 200m, diving experts explained.
”But we were also told that if any bodies did manage to escape from the vessel, the extreme cold and pressure would probably prevent them from reaching the surface,” Bacon said.
The bodies of 14 fishermen from the Lindsay are still missing after the trawler and the container ship Ouro do Brasil collided off the coast of Port Elizabeth on Sunday morning.
Bacon said the Lindsay sank 9,5 nautical miles from the shore and 20 nautical miles south-east of Port Elizabeth.
He said he is in daily contact with relatives of the missing fishermen, who are struggling to come to terms with the disaster.
”Many still watch the horizon, expecting their loved ones to come sailing back into harbour,” he said.
The Lindsay operated out of Mossel Bay, a community heavily reliant on its fishing industry.
”The families contact us daily, wanting to know if any bodies have been found. Any mother would at least like a grave or something to go to,” Bacon said.
Investigators from the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) were interviewing the crew of the Ouro do Brasil in Port Elizabeth harbour on Wednesday. The Liberian-flagged juice transporter has been detained there for the duration of the investigation.
Spanish interpreters have been called to assist with the interviewing process, Samsa said, stating that it is still trying to determine who was at fault.
The Ouro do Brasil and the Lindsay collided off the coast near Port Elizabeth on Sunday morning.
One crew member, Johan Ehlers, who had been smoking a cigarette on deck after phoning his wife, fell into the sea after the collision.
The ship stopped and the alarm was raised, and a massive rescue operation began, including the National Sea Rescue Institute and ships and trawlers in the area.
The first crewman was rescued by the Ouro do Brasil. The trawler’s skipper, Paul Landers, was sucked out of his cabin and clung to debris until he was rescued shortly afterwards by the Lindsay‘s sister trawler, the Lincoln.
Meanwhile, the Mossel Bay municipality has announced that it will hold a memorial service for the 14 missing crewmen at the AGS Church in D’Almeida at 7pm on Thursday.
Western Cape Premier Ibrahim Rasool is expected to attend.
The mayor of Mossel Bay, Alderman Michael Carelse, has also appealed to the public for donations to assist the families of the missing fishermen.
A bank account has been opened under the name of the Lindsay Visserstrust at Absa Mossel Bay.
The account number is 914 158 9291 and donations can be paid directly into the account. — Sapa