The Centrum® Guardian Stories

Sean Serfontein
SAILORS RESCUED AT SEA

Sean Serfontein, Volunteer Rescue Swimmer, National Sea Rescue Institute, was lowered by helicopter into turbulent seas to save 17 sailors from a sinking ship.

2 November 2009. It was 22h30 on a Monday night and NSRI Volunteer Rescue Swimmer, Sean Serfontein, was relaxing in front of the TV when the SMS came through: ‘Code red: all crew report to the base.’  On his way there, Sean called the duty controller who told him that a ship was sinking 78km offshore and that a helicopter would pick him up within minutes.

A Transnet National Ports Authority helicopter, operated by Acher Aviation, had been preparing to take a pilot out to another ship when the Mayday call was forwarded by SASAR to Acher Aviation. It came from the Spanish-registered, 37-metre trawler, with 17 crew onboard. Her engine room had flooded and she was in grave danger of sinking. It seemed the crew was abandoning ship. Rescue coordinators had to work fast.

Two other ships were in the vicinity of the trawler and were trying to assist at the scene. In the meantime, the port helicopter was asked to pick up Sean at the NSRI base. Three minutes after he arrived at the station, Sean ran out and saw a hook from the helicopter being lowered for him.

With the doors shut, the nose of the aircraft dropped, and pilot Rob van Wyk turned out to sea. The wind was from the southeast at 20 knots and the swell 2 to 3 metres, well within the operating range of the powerful twin-engine helicopter. Perhaps most fortunate of all, there was enough moonlight to give the pilot a clear horizon.

Sean spent the 25-minute flight doing final checks on his gear, making sure the small portable radio was securely strapped to his chest. He felt relieved when the helicopter’s searchlights snapped on, illuminating the sinking trawler. At last, the helicopter crew got their first view of what was in store for them. Their biggest problem was that all the sailors had climbed off onto life rafts on the starboard side of the vessel and had tied themselves up together. But the wind and swell were pushing them into the vessel.

Engineer and hoist operator, Andrew Cochrane, lowered Sean into the turbulent waters below. This was done upwind from the vessel, from where he could more easily swim towards the sailors. Once there, Sean commandeered one of their rubber ducks. He took three sailors at a time and brought them to the opposite side of the vessel, from where the pilot, Rob van Wyk, could have a better view of the ship. Hoist operator Andrew then started picking them up from a height of 15 metres.

Although it was cloudy with a little bit of drizzle towards the end of the rescue, the moon provided them with a horizon. The positioning of the two other vessels also helped.

The troubled Spanish trawler had no lights but the searchlights on the helicopter lit up the area to give them relatively good visibility. Their biggest problem was a 20-knot wind and the fact that the vessel was lying across the 3 metre high swell.

An incredible 54 hoists were performed that night – first moving patients to nearby vessels from where they were once again hoisted off and transferred to the SAS Protea that arrived on the scene towards the end of the rescue.  Sean arrived home at 04h30 in the morning after all 17 crew members had been brought to safety.

It was a massive rescue effort, involving one of the highest number of helicopter hoists performed by any of their rescue teams at night. Sean is full of praise for pilot Rob van Wyk, co-pilot Marinus du Preez and Andrew Cochrane, their engineer and hoist operator, whose phenomenal skill was the backbone of the rescue operation.

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Contact Us