Ammonia leak onboard foreign fishing vessel |17 June 2022

The press conference yesterday

Bodies of Spanish sailors removed, investigation to continue

The body of a second Spanish sailor was removed just before 4pm yesterday afternoon from the foreign fishing vessel where an ammonia leak on Wednesday afternoon caused the death of two crew members while the remaining crew were rescued by local emergency services assisted by port authorities.

The body of the first Spanish sailor was removed on Wednesday night.

There were 31 people on the vessel including one Seychellois observer when the incident happened but it is not clear where the two sailors who died – the chief engineer and another engineer – were when the gas leak started.

Eight crew members were admitted to hospital for treatment on Wednesday afternoon and early evening after the evacuation was completed following the incident.

One crew member was still admitted in hospital yesterday with respiratory problems while the remaining seven were examined and released on Wednesday evening.

Ammonia is a dangerous gas but it is used to blast freeze fish on fishing vessels.

Talking to Seychelles NATION early yesterday evening Jones Madeleine from the Seychelles Fire & Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) said they completed the operation to stabilise the situation on the vessel around 4pm before returning ashore.

The vessel is now safe to board and has been handed over to the Seychelles police force for further investigation. 

Meeting with the press during mid morning yesterday were Mr Madeleine himself; harbour master Roy Buisson; the chief executive of the Seychelles Maritime Agency, Captain Joachim Valmont; and the head of visible policing Superintendent Antoine Denousse.

Mr Madeleine explained that following the ammonia leak on the fishing vessel which was reported late afternoon on Wednesday, two people were reported dead and there were other crew members on board. The vessel was moored out at sea facing Port Victoria.

“On Wednesday evening our team rushed to the vessel to evacuate the crew and try to remove the two other members stuck when the accident happened. But our team did not manage to remove one of the dead crew members because the environment was not safe so another team of 16 officers went back on Thursday morning (yesterday) to complete the work,” Mr Madeleine said.

Meanwhile the vessel is a threat to other vessels passing close to it so the Seychelles Coast Guard and the SMSA have launched an appeal to all boats to keep a reasonable distance away from it.

For his part Mr Buisson said the incident did not affect the port’s operations as they have enough tug boats to go round.

Meanwhile Superintendent Denousse pointed out that the police reopened the road at Ile du Port later on Wednesday evening noting that it was important to cordon the area to prevent members of the public from coming to the area.

He has called on members of the public to respect police directives during such incidents.

Mr Valmont for his part has called on members of the public to avoid approaching the area. Meanwhile he has also said that the SMSA is in touch with the vessel’s flag state in the process to seek authorisation to carry out its own investigations.

Marie-Anne Lepathy

Photos Marie-Anne Lepathy/Marla Simeon