guese, two Ghanaians, two citizens of Tristan da Cunha and
one each from the UK and Indonesia aboard the vessel which is registered in
Belize. “All 62 crew have safely been recovered from the vessel and are now on
Gough Island, with one crew member having sustained slight injuries,” according
to the statement issued to the media.
SAMSA working with other agencies and the vessel’s owner, a
company named Ovenstone, arranged for the South African research ship SA
Agulhas II to depart from Cape Town on a rescue mission to the remote island.
SAMSA said, “The SA Agulhas II is expected to take about three days to reach
the island, if weather conditions allow. The vessel is carrying two helicopters
on board which will greatly assist in the transfer of the stricken seafarers
from the island to the vessel. It is expected that the vessel will then make
its return voyage arriving by possibly Friday or Saturday of next week.”
The Geo Searcher was reported at 1,260 DWT. The vessel was
227 feet long. There has been some confusion as to the vessel’s role and why it
was operating in the region. Built in 1982 as a scientific research vessel,
sources in Tristan da Cunha report that it was converted in Gdansk, Poland to a
factory freezer vessel with cargo and passenger capacity. It made its maiden
voyage to Tristan in April 2017 becoming the island's main fishing vessel.
Ovenstone reportedly operates the Tristan da Cunha fishery, and as part of the
contract with the Tristan Government, operates a regular shipping service of
eight trips a year between Cape Town and Tristan da Cunha aboard three vessels.
The Geo Searcher was the largest of the ships.
Still named Geo Searcher, it reportedly made annual trips
between South Africa and the remote island, carrying passengers to the island
and operating in the fishing business. It had completed its last fishing trip
in mid-September.
The SA Agulhas II, built in 2012 as a polar supply and
research vessel, regularly sails in the area. The 440-foot vessel operates
annual cargo and passenger trip to Tristan da Cunha and also visits Gough
Island as part of a lease arrangement with the South African Government to
relieve the personnel at the weather station.