Two local fishermen were reportedly dead after a cargo ship, M.V.Kotalukain ran into a local fishing boat, Emmanuel at the Bango Farm, Goderich sea axis at around 3:00pm local time on Wednesday September 16, 2020, an official of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources said on Wednesday.
The assistance communication officer, Abdulrahman Rogers told Premier News that, the Sierra Leone National Master Fisherman, a body that seeks the interest of local fishermen and boat owners, wrote a letter to the Director of Fisheries indicating that the owner of the local vessel, Emmanuel Eshun reported that two out of six crew members in his boat died after a cargo ship hit their fishing boat.
He noted that the letter indicated the deceased Sillah Kamara, 27, is survived by three children, and Abu Bakarr Kamara, 34, is survived by his pregnant wife and two children.
He disclosed that the crew on the local boat spent over 17 hours in the sea after the accident before some of them were rescued by a Guinean boat.
He said that the estimated cost of the damaged boat, fish net and outboard machine is Le99.5 million.
According to Rogers, the local fishing vessel was wafted out of the Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ) and the crew was cover in fog, which could be attributed to the cause of the accident.
He said that local boat capsized when it was hit by the cargo ship at the deep sea.
He said that even though investigation is ongoing, report gathered so far proved that the artisanal boat was fishing outside the Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ area), a prohibited area for local boat to fishing, according to regulations of the Ministry of Fisheries.
“The IEZ is a prohibited area for all industrial fishing vessels. Only local boats have the mandate to use that particular area for fishing,” he said.
Rogers refuted earlier report that the local boat was hit by a large fishing vessel. He said investigation conducted so far suggests that the local fishing boat was actually hit by a cargo ship rather than a fishing vessel.
He said that since it has been established that the local fishing boat was hit by cargo ship, it is the responsibility of the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration (SLMA) to ensure that victims are compensated for damages.
By George M.O. Williams
24/09/2020. ISSUE NO: 7916