Durban - There was a “98 percent” chance the capsized hull of a boat spotted 600 nautical miles off Port Louis in Mauritius, is the catamaran of the three South African yachtsmen who disappeared in January.
This is according to a person linked to the search.
The Sunsail RC044-978, a luxury yacht owned by the US company, Tui Marine, last made contact with the missing yacht via satellite phone on January 18.
On board were skipper Anthony Murray, 58, 59-year-old Reginald “Reg” Robertson - a member of Durban’s Royal Natal Yacht Club - and first-time sailor Capetonian, Jaryd Payne, 20.
They had been delivering the catamaran from Cape Town to Phuket in Thailand.
Mauritian officials on Monday said they were unable to assist with the search.
Shekur Suntah, the director-general of the Mauritius Ports Authority, said they could only assist if the yacht was sighted at most 3 nautical miles from the port.
“It is beyond the jurisdiction of the port authorities,” Suntah said.
An officer at the Mauritius Maritime Rescue Co-ordinating Centre said details were reported to Australian authorities.
Matthew Thomas, adviser for the families of the three missing yachtmen, said although the identity of the catamaran was yet to be verified, it appeared to be the Sunsail RC044-978.
Thomas said: “But until someone gets in the water, finds the boat and verifies the name or hull number, we don’t know for sure.”
However, Tui Marine has confirmed that it was most likely the yacht in question.
“There’s a 98 percent chance based on the identification, based on the shape of the hull and that there have been no other incidents in that area (that this is the yacht we are looking for). It is extremely unlikely that it isn’t it,” said Thomas.
The master of a container ship who saw the capsized boat on Friday sent photographs to the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC).
Robertson’s daughter, Storme Robertson, said: “The MRCC asked other vessels near the area to divert and see if they could find it, but so far to no avail.
“The first vessel to go there was a fishing vessel, but they got there at nightfall and they were running low on fuel, so their owners told them to return home. We strongly suspect that it is our boat.
“It is in the right drift pattern and the description and colour given by the ship all match. It also looks new, not old.”
UK-based Storme said getting somebody to find the wreck and identify it positively, remained the last hurdle.
Payne’s mother, Lisa Green, has not given hope yet.
She was continuing to pray for a miracle. “Who knows what is possible?” she said.
SA Maritime Safety Authority spokesman, Captain Nigel Campbell, on Monday said they had not received official word of the missing catamaran.
Campbell said he could not comment on Mauritius being unable to help and said the SA Air Force could be deployed to search the area.
He said if the area was too far away for the air force, they would send a salvage tug to search the area.
Daily News