According to a person responsible for the regional fisheries inspection center in the southern region of Angola, the vessel was reported on December 19th 12 miles from Namibian waters, and was carrying 15 crew members of Angolan nationality, one Portuguese, two Senegalese and one South African.
"The information we have is that the vessel called Lucimar, licensed in Angola, was reported in Namibian waters, 12 miles within Namibian waters" on suspicion of "attempted fishing", said Vicente Neto, quoted by Rádio Nacional de Angola.
The same source said that the Namibian authorities did not report any fish, but that they found the boat and after an inspection carried out they suspected that "it was about to carry out fishing".
According to the person responsible, the shipowner was contacted and he claims that the captain reported a failure of the main engine in Angolan waters, causing the vessel to be dragged by the currents to that coordinate already in Namibian waters.
"But we really tried to find out if the captain really reported doing any SOS and we don't see any message reporting the situation, to see the veracity of the situation, so far we have nothing", he stressed.
The three detained crew members, the ship's captain, the chief engineer and a crew member, were accused of the crime of illegal fishing, and have already appeared in court, having been denied bail, and are therefore detained in custody, awaiting trial on the 8th. of February.
