Sea Horse incident Four crew still missing, boat sinks after fire |28 August 2018

Four of the five crew members of the cargo vessel Sea Horse which caught fire early Sunday morning off Coetivy are still missing and  the burning vessel has sunk.

The chief executive of the Islands Development Company (IDC) Glenny Savy confirmed the information yesterday afternoon in the presence of the police and the director general of the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA) Captain Joachim Valmont.

The search for the missing crew  -- Darren Morel, AVR Premathilaka, Nigel Fanchette and Norcy Serret -- continued throughout the day yesterday starting at 7am along the beaches of Coetivy and at sea.

Mr Savy confirmed that when the fire started two crew members jumped in the sea, one managed to swim towards the shore and was picked up on the way while the other has not yet been found together with the three others whose fate remain unknown and probably will be impossible to say what happened to them.

The vessel which was still floating as of late Sunday afternoon has now sunk according to all indications, Mr Savy said.

Officials of the IDC and the investigative team including the police from Mahé  were hoping to be able to board the Sea Horse to determine the possible cause of the fire but this will not be possible now.

Mr Savy confirmed that neither the two aircraft nor the coast guard searching the area have been able to locate the burning vessel early yesterday morning. The last images of the burning vessel were taken by the search aircraft at around 5pm on Sunday and it showed it was tilting on its side and was still burning. A small IDC boat attempting to go nearer to the burning vessel to assess the possibility of boarding it, could not do so for fear of a possible explosion but it observed that the life raft had not been deployed as it was still in its position and melting.

Mr Savy said that also on Sunday, the IDC had asked the coast guard for the exact position of the vessel.

“We have asked the coast guard to try and plot its position based on the direction it was drifting and it ascertained that most probably it sunk during Sunday night at 1500 to 2000m of depth which make it impossible to carry out any search to salvage it,” Mr Savy affirmed, noting that probably no one will ever reach the vessel to know what really happened onboard that evening.

He said the search operations will now stop as there is no hope of finding the four men alive but they will continue to patrol the area around Coetivy for several more days in the hope of finding their bodies washed ashore.

“It is with deep regrets and a heavy heart full of sympathy for the men’s families and friends that we extend our condolences,” Mr Savy said yesterday afternoon. He expressed gratitude to all the different agencies who have replied promptly to help in the search operations.

Mr Savy also confirmed that the vessel which makes these trips to carry these consignments of fuel and food to Coetivy on a weekly basis was well equipped, the crew experienced and the vessel loaded on the deck as per the normal procedures.  

Meanwhile Mr Savy also said the IDC is giving its support to the families of the missing men.