Two stowaways were dumped into shark-infested waters off South Africa by a sailor and his crew who feared the two men had coronavirus, it is alleged.
The two Tanzanians say they were cast adrift in the Indian Ocean after the crew discovered them hiding on the bulk carrier MV Top Grace.
Despite the ocean currents and the danger of sharks, the two men survived and washed up on Zinkwazi Beach in their life raft.
Seven crew members including the captain have since been charged with attempted murder in South Africa.
The bulk carrier MV Top Grace arrives in Richards Bay on the coast of South Africa, where it was intercepted by police over claims that two stowaways were thrown overboard
This map shows where the ship was travelling when the two stowaways were discovered on board. They later washed up at Zinkwazi beach
The two stowaways were found hiding in a locker room after climbing up the anchor chain when the ship was docked in Durban.
Crew members on the 600ft vessel found them cowering under a pile of canvas hours after the ship left harbour.
According to the two men, the crew feared they had coronavirus and decided to throw them out rather than heading back to port or quarantining them.
The captain allegedly ordered the ship’s engineer to bring the vessel to a halt before the terrified pair were put in a life raft, given some bottles of water and cast adrift.
The ship then powered away, leaving the stowaways with no food and without sight of land at the mercy of the sea currents in one of the most shark-infested areas of the stormy North Coast.
The two men told police that their ordeal ended after three days and two nights adrift, when they spotted lights on a tourist beach.
They were washed ashore on Zinkwazi Beach, by the mouth of the Tugela River, where Great White Sharks, Hammerhead Sharks, Tiger sharks and Bull Sharks gather in huge numbers.
The predators shoal there in their hundreds feeding on whatever is washed down the region’s largest river and anglers rate it as the best spot in South Africa to catch sharks.
Locals found the starving stowaways wading through the surf wearing life jackets and dragging the raft behind them, begging for food and water and help.
Paramedics and police raced to the scene near the town of Nkwazi where the shivering Tanzanians said the crew had set them adrift.
The two Tanzanian stowaways (on the left in the red and green overalls) are taken to an ambulance after their raft washed up at Zinkwazi Beach in South Africa
When the MV Top Grace docked at Richards Bay harbour on April 3, having set off from Durban on March 28, it was intercepted and boarded by a South African Police Service motor launch.
The captain of the ship and his six-man crew were accused of abandoning the stowaways with no regard to their safety and were ordered not to leave port.
A spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed the crew had appeared before magistrates last Wednesday, each charged with two counts of attempted murder.
The seven men from the Panamanian-registered ship were given bail set at R20,000 (£885) each, and confined to the vessel until this Friday when they will next appear in court.
A source close to the two week long police investigation said: ‘The two [stowaways] both accept they were breaking the law when they climbed the ships anchor chain but said they were only looking to find a better life.
‘When they were found stowed away and realised they were being thrown off the ship they said they begged to stay on board but were given a life jacket and a few bottles of water and put onto a life raft.
‘They were way out to sea so were just lucky the wind and currents washed them towards the shore and not away from it as the Indian Ocean is so vast they would probably not have been seen again.
‘Those waters in that area are full of sharks and the sea can turn from flat calm to mountainous waves in minutes and you have to remember that this raft was also in a busy shipping lane as well.
‘They said they were put overboard because the crew thought they may have COVID-19 and as a result of those claims they have been tested for the virus and as a precaution so have those on the ship.
‘What these men say happened to them on board was more like something you would expect from a Hollywood film or in a book and it is hard to believe it could happen in this day and age’ said the source.
The two stowaways were allegedly left to fend for themselves in the Indian Ocean despite the danger of encountering great white sharks (file photo)
The stowaways and the crew are now awaiting coronavirus test results ahead of their next court appearance in Durban.
Captain Vernon Keller of the South African Marine Safety Agency said the ship’s Hong Kong-based owners could also face attempted murder charges.
He said: ‘It is alleged two stowaways boarded the vessel at a wharf in Durban on March 23 by climbing up the mooring ropes and hiding in the chain locker until it sailed on March 28.
‘Seven crew who were the the ship’s master, chief officer, third officer, chief engineer, first engineer, second engineer and bosun were taken into police custody and charged with attempted murder.
‘The crew had their travel documents seized and were allowed to return to the vessel on bail until their next court appearance’ he said.
Maree McCreadie of the Zinkwazi Neighbourhood Watch said the stowaways had said they were at sea for three days and were cast adrift as the crew feared they had the coronavirus.
She added: ‘The scene was closed off and an ambulance took the two men to hospital’.
IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson Paul Herbs said: ‘We received a call on Monday evening informing us of two men who had washed ashore and turned out to be ship stowaways.
‘On arrival two Tanzanian nationals were attended to and alleged they had hidden on a vessel that departed Durban port and it is alleged that the crew of the vessel then discovered them.
‘It is alleged they were forced to leave the vessel after being given life jackets and a makeshift raft and the men said they spent three days at sea before making landfall near Zinkwazi.
‘They were treated for exposure and then transported to a local medical facility for further care and the South African Police Service then attended and it is now a police matter’ he said.
The 600ft, 35,000-ton cargo ship was built in 2016 and transports bulk items such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils and cement in its many sealed holds around the world.
The MV Top Grace was plotted on a short 100 nautical mile trip from Durban north to Richards Bay and had spent several days moored in the channel before a berth came free for it to dock.
It will remain confined to port until the police and South African Maritime Safety Agency grants it permission to continue its voyage, possibly with a new captain and crew sent out by the owners.