Men accused of throwing stowaways from ship charged with attempted murder
Appearing in the Durban Magistrates Court, the men were each granted bail of R20 000 while all travel documents were seized.
Two weeks after two Tanzanian stowaways claimed to have been thrown overboard from a “Chinese ship” before washing ashore at Zinkwazi, seven of the crew including the Captain were arrested and charged with attempted murder.
The men were arrested when the ship docked at Richards Bay last Friday and according to Marine Traffic, an online tracking platform designed to track marine vessels, the vessel is registered to Panama.
The duo had illegally boarded the vessel, Top Grace, at Durban Harbour.
Photo: Dave Savides, Zululand Observer.
When they were discovered hiding on the ship, they were allegedly put overboard with a make-shift raft, life jackets and some bottles of water.
The Tanzanians claimed they spent four days at sea before coming in at Zinkwazi.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Kara said seven crew of the vessel appeared in absentia* at the Durban Magistrates Court on Monday and the case was postponed to Wednesday while waiting for the results of their Covid-19 screening tests.
Appearing in the Durban Magistrates Court on Wednesday, the men were each granted bail of R20 000 while all travel documents were seized.
The crew have been confined to the vessel until their next court appearance on April 17.
ORIGINAL STORY: Stowaways thrown from ‘Chinese’ vessel
*In absentia is a criminal proceeding in a court of law in which the person who is subject to it is not physically present at those proceedings
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