Fouzia van der Fort|Updated 21 hours ago
Relatives of 11 missing fishermen gathered outside Sea Harvest’s Waterfront offices on Wednesday, September 23, demanding answers and accountability more than two years after the sinking of the MFV Lepanto.
No Sea Harvest representative was present to receive the memorandum, which was left at the office door.
The memorandum outlined concerns including delayed paperwork, the proposed termination of family wage payments by the end of 2026, and a lack of transparency concerning financial relief funds raised for the victims’ families.
Supported by COSATU Western Cape, families of the missing crew chanted “We want justice” during a peaceful protest aimed at highlighting their ongoing distress and financial uncertainty.
The families requested a formal written response within seven days and immediate engagement through COSATU.
The South African fishing trawler sank about 34 nautical miles west of Slangkop Lighthouse, in Kommetjie, in a depth of approximately 350m of water on Friday, May 17, 2024.
This is according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) who conducted an investigation and compiled a preliminary report into the incident, which was made public by Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy on December 17, 2024.
Nine crew members survived and were rescued, but 11 men were lost at sea, and their bodies remain unrecovered.
Families demand answers
Marisha Isaacs told Atlantic Sun that family life has not been the same since the deep-sea fishing trawler sank and her brother Johnwill Isaacs went missing at sea.
“He had a girlfriend, and his son was nine months old when the incident happened,” she said, adding that their sister had also died, but they have a grave to go to.
“Where do we go for him?” she asked.
Isaacs said her parents and two of their siblings packed up and left their Chatsworth family home to move to the Northern Cape after the incident.
“We’re only four siblings now in Chatsworth. Didn’t have many friends, but we always had each other,” she said.
Isaacs said that Johnwill wanted to be at sea, to provide for his family.
He was working for about four years before the tragedy.
Wilma Jooste, spokesperson for the families, shared the deep pain felt by communities like Chatsworth and Atlantis, stressing that families still have no grave to visit or closure regarding their loved ones.
COSATU provincial secretary Malverne de Bruyn said the least the fishing company could do was to come meet the families for the handover of the memorandum.
“For them, it is just that those 11 people who have passed on, presumed dead… and no longer here, and there is no need for them to engage the families. It just means that, to them, workers mean nothing…” he said.
Investigation remains unresolved
According to the report, SAMSA could not establish a definitive root cause due to the wreck lying 350 metres underwater, prompting a recommendation for a formal Court of Marine Enquiry.
Sea Harvest Group marketing and communications executive Jared Patel said that the company acknowledged the SAMSA report, expressed devastation over the loss of life, and affirmed its commitment to cooperating with authorities while supporting the affected families.
Lyle Coetzee, from Atlantis, said her deckhand husband, Jeremiah, only met their eldest grandchild.
They have four children and four grandchildren.
“We don’t have a grave to go to, and they (Sea Harvest) are treating us like we are dirt, like we are nothing,” she said.
Ms Coetzee said that they wanted answers and were anxiously waiting for answers from the Court of Marine Enquiry.
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