Western Cape police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a local fishing vessel skipper whose body was recovered offshore from Fransmanshoek near Mossel Bay on Friday.
Provincial police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said Kwanongaba police registered an inquest for further investigation following the recovery of a man’s body offshore by personnel of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).
“This office can confirm that the body of an unidentified man was spotted in the sea near Fransmanshoek on Friday, 21 February 2025. The circumstances surrounding this incident are now under investigation,” he said.
NSRI Mossel Bay duty crew responded to reports of a body floating offshore from Fransmanshoek at approximately 3.17pm yesterday, according to NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon.
Lambinon said the NSRI Mossel Bay rescue vehicle, WC Government Health EMS, and the SA Police Services responded to the scene.
Additionally, the NSRI rescue craft St Blaise Rescuer was launched, he said.
“A local boater that had come across a body of a man floating in the water had been requested to stay on the scene,” he stated.
According to Lambinon, while responding to the incident, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) reported to NSRI that they had received alerts of a man overboard from a local fishing vessel.
“On arrival at the scene, approximately 2.8 nautical miles offshore, NSRI crew onboard the NSRI rescue craft secured the body, receiving authorisation from police to recover the body onto the rescue craft,” he said.
Lambinon stated that the body of the deceased man was brought to the NSRI Mossel Bay Station 15 rescue base.
“The body of the adult man, confirmed to be the skipper of a local fishing vessel who was reported as a man overboard, was taken into the care of the police and Government Health Forensic Pathology Services,” he said.
NSRI offered condolences to the family, colleagues, and friends of the deceased man.
Last year, Durban seine netter and experienced fisherman Goolam Fareed Essack, 73, died during the sardine run season in Umgababa on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
Essack, along with his crew of three, experienced difficulties with his boat while dropping a net for sardines.