Cape Town - The South African Navy has launched an investigation into why a warship fired a heavy-calibre weapon at a fishing vessel last week during a joint offshore exercise between the South African and German navies.
The incident happened in the dark in the early hours of Wednesday morning after commercial fisherman Anthony Day, of Hermanus, had launched his 28-foot ski boat, Arctic, from Struisbaai harbour at about 2.30am.
He and nine crew were heading for the fishing grounds at Twelve Mile Bank, 12 nautical miles offshore of the Agulhas lighthouse, when they were fired at, about 10 miles offshore.
Captain Jaco Theunissen, spokesman for the SA Navy’s joint operations division, said on Saturday: “The South African National Defence Force acknowledges that the unfortunate incident that was reported on in the Cape Times on Friday, March 27 did take place.”
The navy has said warnings about naval exercises are sent out as navigation warnings on radio and to all fishing clubs and harbours. Day has said he got no warning.
Day said on Sunday that he had organised for a trauma counsellor to speak to him and his crew on Saturday.
The counsellor told them they were all displaying signs of trauma. Some of the crew could not sleep.
“It’s a major shock that it was so close to us. Afterwards, you come to realise we could all be dead. We’ve all got families. One of my crew told me some of the crew from Arniston told him they’re never going to sea with me again, almost blaming me.”
Day said on Thursday the three shots had landed about 15 to 20m in front of his boat. The shots were so loud his ears were ringing and he and his crew could “smell the gunpowder”.
He believes the warship – he could not tell whether it was South African or German – had fired at him thinking his ski boat was the small radio-operated vessel that was to take part in the exercise and which the warships “blow up” during the exercise.
Day had seen the radio-operated boat on the slipway at Struisbaai before he launched, and had chatted to the charter company that had towed it to the harbour.
Day said he understood from the charter company the naval exercise was to start at 4am. He believed it would be offshore of the Denel missile testing range at De Hoop. His vessel had headed in the opposite direction, offshore of Agulhas, at 2.30am.
After the incident, Day called Denel to speak to the safety officer.
“They didn’t get back to me, and no one from the navy has contacted me. It is very disturbing that you can nearly take someone’s life away and you don’t even contact them.
“I understand they don’t want legal implications, but if I shot at someone in the street, I would be locked up, and here nothing happens.”
Day reported the incident to the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) last week, but was told the organisation, part of the Department of Transport, dealt only with incidents involving injury or damage to persons or vessels, not near misses. Also, Samsa did not have authority over naval vessels.
However, Samsa suggested Day make the affidavits to be forwarded to Samsa’s chief executive. It was up to him to decide whether to take the matter up with the navy.
Day sent his affidavit to Samsa on Friday, and Samsa told the Cape Times on Thursday that warnings of naval exercises were sent out by the navy via Cape Town radio.
When the Cape Times asked Cape Town radio on Thursday if the warning had been issued, the radio staff said no information could be given “without a court order”.
Theunissen said earlier that all harbours and fishing clubs would have got the navigational warning. The warnings would also be on the noticeboards of harbours.
“My radio was on from about 2am and there was no warning,” said Day.
On Thursday, the German embassy told the Cape Times that they could not comment as they were going to issue a joint statement with the South African Navy, but no statement has been issued yet.
Cape Times