Minister Barbara Creecy to meet with families of the Lepanto crew following tragic Hake Deep Sea Trawl Vessel sinking

21 May 2024

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, will meet the families of the crew of the sunken hake deep-sea trawl vessel, Lepanto, on Wednesday, 22 May 2024. The vessel sank off the West Coast last week.

The Search And Rescue (SAR) effort was called off by SAMSA Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Cape Town on Sunday, 19 May 2024. The continuous lack of sighting reports from the incident and the unfavourable weather led the MRCC to conclude the SAR effort.

Members of the media are invited to be part of the visit as follows:

Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2024 
Time: 11h00 
Venue: Sea Harvest, Viking Division 4 South Arm Road Table Bay Harbour Cape Town

To RSVP, contact 

Paul Sigutya on 
Mobile:072 921 4457 E-mail: psigutya@dffe.gov.za

 or 

Merle Van Diemel on
Mobile: 083 301 9400 
E-mail: mvandiemel@dffe.gov.za

For media enquiries, please contact: 

Peter Mbelengwa 
Mobile: +27 82 611 8197