Iceberg off St Francis Bay

October 08 2007 at 08:44PM

An iceberg, 25 metres in length and 20 metres in height, has been spotted south-east of St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Monday.

"This is very unusual and in fact we don't know of anything in recent history that has being reported this close to South African waters," said NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon.

The iceberg was spotted around 6pm on Monday by those aboard a fishing vessel, the Ntini. It was floating 35 nautical miles south-east of St Francis Bay.

Lambinon said maritime authorities were taking the report "quite seriously" and the maritime radio services were broadcasting a warning to vessels in the area.

The situation would be monitored throughout the night to try to determine the direction and speed of the drift of the iceberg. - Sapa

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Mystery surrounds St Francis Bay's 'iceberg'

October 09 2007 at 06:00PM

Air Force pilots on the lookout of a massive iceberg in St Francis Bay on Tuesday did not see anything of the sort from the air, sea rescue officials said.

National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Craig Lambinon said the Air Force did not specifically go looking for the iceberg.

"The Air Force was due to fly in that area anyway and not specifically to look for the iceberg. They were requested to keep a lookout for it, but they did not find or see any iceberg," said Lambinon.

"But, we must take into consideration, that they flew in unfavourable weather conditions where there were high waves," he said.

On Monday the crew of a fishing vessel, the Ntini, reported seeing a massive iceberg - estimated at 25 metres in length and 25 metres high.

It was last seen at 6pm on Monday, 35 nautical miles south east of St Francis Bay.

Lambinon said there had only been one sighting thus far and he could not confirm the find as the NSRI had not seen it themselves.

Meanwhile, SA Weather Service marine researcher Ian Hunter said an iceberg of this magnitude was unlikely.

"It's very unlikely because of the warm Agulhas current off the east coast," he said.

"The history of iceberg climatology in this area also shows that there has never been anything like this in the past," he said.

Hunter said the 'South African Sailing Direction', a book published by the Hydrographic Office under the South African Navy, mentions that there were a few iceberg sightings in the 1850s near Cape Town.

He said there was also a report from a ship in 2002 off the Cape west coast of a piece of ice, about a metre-high above the water.

"We refer to this as a 'growler' because it is very small. Bearing in mind the cold Cape Town water, this was, to an extent, acceptable," he said.

But he said the chances of an iceberg of magnitude arriving off St Francis Bay were slim.

"An iceberg this big would have to drift through a considerable amount of warm water because of the warm Agulhas current. Anyway, a big iceberg such as this would be seen by ships on their radar," said Hunter.

"This was one sighting and it could be a navigation hazard. A navigation warning has already been sent out based on this report."

Hunter said it was imperative that this sighting be verified as soon as possible because if a ship hit an iceberg, the ship would sink.

He said air force pilots may not see an iceberg because high waves may block it from sight. - Sapa