WALVIS BAY - Heartbroken Philipus Heita is not losing faith that his son, who went missing on a fishing vessel a week ago, will be found alive.
“I may never know what happened to my son, and no one knows what happened or saw him going overboard. But I remain hopeful that he is alive and safe,” were the words of Heita, father of Hangana Seafood’s seaman Jonas Heita, who has been missing at sea since 7 February.
Hangana Seafood is a subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List Group. The 35-year-old Jonas went missing on Monday morning after reporting ill and was on his way to rest on the vessel, about 60 miles north of Cape Cross, a common fishing ground for hake trawlers.
Heita said he received the dreadful call on Monday around 12h55 while he was driving to Oshikuku in the Omusati region, where his brother was involved in a car accident. He was informed by fellow crew members that his son apparently waved at them shortly after cracking a few jokes as he was instructed by the Begonia vessel captain not to do any heavy work, but to rather rest as he was unwell.
Shortly after that, he apparently informed the captain he was going to rest, but not in his room. He then, instead of taking the staircase inside to the sleeping quarters, took the staircase outside facing the sea.
This apparently bothered the captain, who sent a crew member to check up on Jonas, but he could not be located thereafter.
“On Monday, they told me that my son is missing, and that they instructed other vessels to search around the perimeters where my son went missing, but they don’t know what happened,” Heita, who also worked for more than 20 years for Hangana Seafood, said while speaking in the company of family and friends after a prayer session at Jonas’ residence in Walvis Bay’s Tutaleni.
According to Heita, he arrived on Tuesday afternoon in Walvis Bay, and was briefed by the company about the events leading up to Jonas’ disappearance from the vessel.
“They only know what the captain had told them, and they will conduct a 48-hour search as required by international law before calling off the search. I was, however, still hopeful that my son will be rescued or even found by another vessel,” narrated Heita.
On Thursday last week, Begonia docked at the Walvis Bay harbour without his son. Heita then met the captain, who told him that Jonas was sick and went to rest, and that was the last time they saw him. However, Heita insisted Jonas was not sick but had chronic conditions - high blood pressure and asthma - but this did not prevent him from working.
Jonas also had a disciplinary hearing scheduled upon his return from sea. According to a letter shown to New Era, Jonas was given a disciplinary hearing notice on 2 February for alleged dishonesty and leaving his workstation. He allegedly refused to sign the letter, before he boarded the fishing vessel.
“Maybe he was afraid to be fired once he came back from the sea. However, I think the company was negligent and careless in this regard. How do you give someone a disciplinary hearing notice while he is going out to sea? He could have been anxious, and this could have pushed his blood pressure up,” the father reasoned. Ohlthaver & List Group spokesperson Roux-che Locke on Friday said a full investigation has been launched to assess the circumstances around the unfortunate incident.
According to her, the vessel was thoroughly searched, and a 48-hour aerial search and rescue mission deployed to locate the missing crew member.
“Sadly, the search and rescue mission was unsuccessful. The next of kin were informed, and our captain and crew members will be supported with trauma counselling by the company,” Locke said in a statement.
Ministry of Works spokesperson Julius Ngweda yesterday told New Era that they have not yet started with the investigation. He, however, added that they have engaged officials from Walvis Bay to see whether the ministry has been briefed accordingly before the investigation starts from their side.
– edeklerk@nepc.com.na