A Liberian licensed French tuna fishing vessel called ‘Avel Vor’ has sank some 180 nautical miles off coast, the National Fisheries Authority (NaFAA) has announced.
A statement by the NaFAA on Thursday disclosed that the ill-fated vessel sank since last week.
The vessel was sailing to fishing grounds when, on the evening of October 27, it struck an unidentified underwater object.
According to NaFAA 23 crew member including ten Frenchmen and a fisheries observer, were rescued by three other tuna vessels.
The NaFAA said the hull of the vessel was breached, causing water to flood the engine room and rendering the ship’s pumps incapable of controlling water ingress.
As a result, the captain ordered his 23 crew members to abandon the vessel.
The entry report received by the Fisheries Monitoring Center (FMC) of NaFAA further disclosed that 20,000 kg of tuna and tuna-like species were on board the French vessel.
Avel Vor experienced a leakage on the night of October 27, 2019 in the Gulf of Guinea, 315 kilometers off the coast of Liberia, following a water ingress in the engine room which could not be brought under control.
The NaFAA release further stated that three days after the vessel had sailed from Abidjan and was headed towards its fishing ground, some crew members heard a sound on the hull as it struck the unidentified floating object.
The bilge alarm of the engine room was triggered, and it flooded rapidly, so that the pumps could not cope with the incoming water, leading the capitan to order the vessel to be abandoned.
All day long on October 28, 2019, tug with additional pumps and a diver team was awaited eagerly, while the Avel Vor continued to sink slowly.
In the early morning of October 29,2019, it disappeared from the radar.
Another tuna fishing vessel “ Pendruc” remained in the area with part of the crew.
At daylight there was no trace of the ship.
The Pendruc recovered floating objects that could be dangerous for navigation.
Meanwhile, analysis done at the Liberia Fisheries Monitoring Center established that the vessel entered the Liberian Exclusive Economic Zone on October 26, 2019 at 23:09:32 UTC at this position Lat. 2° 8′ 46″ N.
TSS/as/APA