The AFKI, a former shrimp trawler, is being searched off the west coast of Africa. There are two crew members from Harlingen and Zoutkamp on board.
This is reported by the trade journal for the fishing sector Fisheries news on its website .
The AFKI left on Saturday, August 19, from the port of Stellendam in the province of Zeeland with its final destination Congo. According to Visserijnieuws, the skipper disembarked in the port of Banjul in Gambia last month due to health problems and flew back to the Netherlands. He is now said to be in Cameroon to conduct the search.
Disappeared from the radar
According to Visserijnieuws, the last viewed position of the AFKI was ‘under Lagos in Nigeria, approximately 2000 miles further from Gambia’. We were unable to connect with the crew. The cutter has also disappeared from the radar.
The Dutch Coast Guard and the Maritime Police team have been informed about the disappearance, Visserijnieuws reports. The former cutter is almost seventy years old and was sold to a church community in Congo in May this year. The new name AFKI stands for Association des Femmes Kimbanguïstes.