At 19h42, Saturday, 12th March, NSRI Kommetjie duty crew were alerted following multiple eye-witnesses along the Atlantic Coastline reporting a red distress flare sighted between 4 and 5 nautical miles off-shore of Kommetjie.
NSRI Kommetjie duty crew were activated and launched the sea rescue craft Spirit of the Vines and NSRI Hout Bay duty crew were activated and the sea rescue craft Nadine Gordimer was launched while shore crew at Kommetjie confirmed that an unidentified boat could be seen moving towards the location of where the red distress flare had been sighted.
On arrival on the scene NSRI Kommetjie found the casualty boat Nuweland, a 12 meter cray fishing boat with 4 crew onboard, had been taken under tow by the fishing trawler Boetie Bert.
The fishing trawler Boetie Bert had been nearby at the time and they had responded to investigate the origin of the red distress flare and on their arrival they found the casualty boat Nuweland to be suffering mechanical and electrical failure and they had taken the casualty boat under tow.
All crew aboard Nuweland were safe.
NSRI Kommetjie escorted the two vessels and when NSRI Hout Bay arrived on the scene they took over the tow of the casualty craft and the casualty craft was towed to Hout Bay without incident and once safely berthed no further assistance was required.
TABLE BAY:
At 11h58, Sunday, 13th March, NSRI Table Bay duty crew, accompanied by a WC Government Health EMS rescue paramedic, launched the sea rescue craft Spirit of Vodacom to rendezvous with the car carrier Otello, off-shore of Mouille Point, to patient evacuate a crewman onboard, believed to be the ships engineer, suffering a Stroke (CVA Cerebro Vascular Accident).
On arrival on the scene the patient was assessed by the EMS rescue paramedic and found to be suffering a mild stroke (TIA – Transient Ischaemic Attack) and in a stable condition the patient was transferred onto the sea rescue craft and brought to the NSRI Table Bay base and transported to hospital by EMS ambulance in a stable condition.
