Capsized catamaran towed to port

A capsized catamaran whose one-man crew had been rescued 11 days ago was yesterday evening towed into Grand Harbour by a civil protection department boat.

The catamaran had been spotted by a passing ship in the morning some 12 miles off L-Ahrax tal-Mellieha, the Armed Forces of Malta said.

At first there was something of a mystery surrounding the French 11-metre Nomade: AFM rescuers who went out to it by helicopter after the passing ship made contact found no one aboard or in the vicinity.

However, it was later established that the catamaran was the same one that had capsized on March 27 in bad weather some 35 nautical miles off Dingli on the way to Malta, the AFM said.

They said a Frenchman who was sailing solo had been rescued by a Cypriot cargo ship, the Puma, and he had been taken to Piraus, Greece.

The AFM had responded to the sailor`s distress call that day by sending out a helicopter, but it had been easier to take him off the catamaran by dinghy from the Puma.

The AFM said that at the time it had been assumed that the catamaran had sunk.

However, it turned up again yesterday when it was spotted by a Liberian-flagged ship, the Pharos, off L-Ahrax.

The AFM said that besides the helicopter it also sent out patrol boat P-23, which had a hard time towing the catamaran back to shore because of the swell.

It was then joined by the Garibaldi, a civil protection department vessel, which completed the job.

The catamaran is now at Vittoriosa.

The AFM said it had probably been dragged around the island, from a location off Dingli to a spot off Mellieha, by the currents.