Sea Harvest, the company that owned the fishing vessel that sank 34 nautical miles (nearly 63km) off the coast of Hout Bay, says it is working closely with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and others to find the cause of the tragedy.

The MFV Lepanto, which had left Hout Bay Harbour, sank on Friday afternoon May 17. Nine of the 20-member crew were rescued without injury, but the search for the missing 11 was called off on Monday and they are now presumed drowned, according to Sea Harvest.

Sea Harvest CEO Felix Ratheb said the company was “devastated by this tragedy” and was providing counselling to the families of the missing men and other staff “as this has been extremely upsetting and sad for all of us".

On Friday afternoon, the National Sea Rescue Authority (NSRI) at Hout Bay and Table Bay responded to reports of the vessel sinking off Hout Bay.

At least five fishing vessels nearby also responded to a mayday distress call intercepted by Telkom Maritime Radio Services, locating and recovering the nine survivors from a life raft.

They were brought to the Port of Table Bay aboard the MFV Armana, another Sea Harvest vessel that was in the area at the time of the distress call.

The men were reunited with their families after a physical evaluation by a medical doctor and were provided with immediate trauma counselling.

According to Hangberg community activist Roscoe Jacobs, none of the missing fishermen was from Hout Bay.

As yet there has been no announcements of a memorial service planned for the missing fishermen who are presumed dead.

On Monday, mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Premier Alan Winde visited the families of the 11 fishermen missing at sea to offer their condolences and support.

“We are mourning today with the families of those fishermen lost at sea. Together with the premier, I conveyed our deepest condolences directly to these families this morning, 10 of whom are from Cape Town, with one from Malmesbury.

“We honour and remember these fishermen. We are praying for their families.”

"The City extends its gratitude to the dedicated personnel who have managed to save nine lives as part of the search effort led by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), South African Search and Rescue, and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre," said Mr Hill-Lewis.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority did not respond to questions by time of publication.

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