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A 15-strong crew were rescued off South Africa’s southern Cape seas on Thursday afternoon after their offshore supply vessel caught on fire and had to be abandoned.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said that the vessel, named the Marshall Island-flagged AM Pride, caught fire early on Thursday, in an ocean area some 90 km south of Mossel Bay.
The Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) in Cape Town received a call from the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA) around 10:30 am local time advising that the vessel caught fire close to the FA oil and gas platform and required immediate assistance. PetroSA told the MRCC the fire was located in the ship’s messroom and that it was out of control.
A call was put out to vessels in the area to render assistance. Two vessels near the OSV, the Angelic Peace and the Thunderbird responded to the call.
A PetroSA helicopter was also sent to assist and was able to retrieve the first group of eight seafarers from a life-raft and took them to the FA platform. The helicopter then brought the remaining seven crew members to the coastal city of George. The entire crew will be flown to Cape Down today.
In the meantime, African Marine Solution’s Mkhuseli emergency towing vessel was sent to rendezvous with the AM Pride at around 07:30 am local time on Friday and retrieve the vessel to an as-of-yet undisclosed location agreed with the owners Alphard Maritime. |
