The South African Navy submarine SAS Manthatisi was at the right place at the wrong time when Mother Nature had the final word.
These were just some of the findings of the SA Navy's board of inquiry, into the tragic deaths of three sailors almost a year ago.
Lieutenant Commander Gillian Elizabeth Hector (Executive Officer), Master Warrant Officer William Masela Mathipa (Coxswain/Chief of the Boat), and Warrant Officer Class One Mokwapa Lucas Mojela (Coxswain under training) lost their lives following a fatal incident out at sea off Kommetjie near Cape Town on 20 September last year.
Hector, (nee Malouw) born and raised in Gqeberha, made history when she became the first woman in Africa to navigate a submarine.
Also read: Family mourns loss of pioneering navy submariner
She was affectionately known as "Queen of the Sea"
While her family is still grieving her death, Hector's mother, Bernadette Malouw, told Algoa FM News she has accepted the findings and will have to live with it.
She said nearly a year on, the hurt has not lessened and that she misses her daughter daily, but she has learned not to question God.
A statement that reports on the board of inquiry's findings was released by Colonel Selina Rawlins, Acting Director of the South African National Defence Force Corporate Communication division on Saturday.
Some of the issues uncovered were that the safety line was not conducive to carry a lot of members at the same time, the line to the safety harness was too long, there was no requirement for the casing party to wear safety headgear, and the Man over Board exercises doctrine did not provide for a Man over Board locator beacon.
According to the statement, the sailors were swept multiple times by high seas following a vertical transfer (VERTREP) exercise involving a South African Air Force (SAAF) Maritime Lynx helicopter and the SA Navy's submarine SAS MANTHATISI.
On the day of the incident, the vessel was authorised to carry out multiple evolutions, including VERTREP by the Officer Commanding of the submarine and helicopter.
The report states that the weather on the day was manageable and the VERTRAP had previously been completed in comparable to worse weather conditions.
On the day, however, the VERTREP could not be finalised because the parties were not able to get the two members on the casing.
It was called off and the members were hoisted back into the helicopter.
Just as everyone was about to get back into the submarine, the sea conditions changed abruptly, resulting in "unexpected freak waves."
Hector, Mathipa, Mojela, and one other sailor were swept into the sea by a freak wave.
Everyone was still attached to the safety line, when Hector bumped her head against the submarine's hull, rendering her unconscious, as stated in in the report.
With the assistance of the safety swimmer, everyone managed to get back onto the casing.
Hector was resuscitated and "started to breathe".
"Everyone was fine, WO Mathipa and Mojela unclipped their safety lines to go back into the submarines.
"Just as they proceeded back to the submarine another freak wave washed them overboard."
Only Hector was still attached to the safety line.
As crew members came to assist their colleagues and as they were pulling them out another freak wave hit them washing them away and dispersing them.
They managed to get Hector out of the water and back into the submarine where the Ops Medic attended to her while the others in the water were rescued by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).
Attempts by the former Ops Medic to resuscitate Mathipa and Mojela were unsuccessful.
"The severity and force of the freak waves, the foul weather gear that becomes heavy when wet, and the movement of the boat pushing the members to and fro in the cold sea conditions took its toll on the members, it drained their energy to such an extent that they could only float and wait to be rescued. "
The report further states that since the board of inquiry, life jackets is now modernised and improved to handle 270kg (with foul weather gear) and survive rough sea conditions.
The safety line was also improved to ensure that it would not stretch and it would be capable of handling five members at the same time.
In addition, it will be reduced to ensure that members will not be submerged when slipping from the casing.
"Since the doctrine never required the casing party to wear safety headgear, this requirement is now included as part of the gear once you step on the casing.
"With the Man over Board exercises the doctrine did not provide for a Man over Board locator beacon. This will now become part of the doctrine."
According to the Navy, they will also ensure that the "rescue man" that is utilized on the submarine is not only "conversant" with water but also needs to be a "strong swimmer."
Standing Operating Procedures are being revised to be improved where necessary.
In conclusion, the SAN said there were no guarantees that the outcome would have been different if all of the lessons learned had been implemented and corrective actions had been done before the tragedy.
"This is what they signed up for: to serve the nation with loyalty and pride; to defend and safeguard our country with honour, dignity, courage, and integrity."
