Nairobi — The owner of the ship which sank off the Somalia Coast, killing its German captain and a Kenyan sailor, has said the vessel was in good condition and had been issued with all the relevant statutory certificates.

Mr Ben Evans attributed the misfortune that befell the MV Global Island to rough seas following the Indian Ocean earthquake.

He said all seven crew members had protective clothing and life jackets.

Evans said Captain Beckert Wolfgang and a seafarer, Mr Joseph Gitau, died when their life raft was swept away by strong waves as they struggled to grab it.

"The unusually rough seas encountered by the vessel can be attributed to the after shocks of the underwater earthquake that occurred in South East Asia, giving rise to the awesome tsunami," Evans said.

Evans spoke as the Merchant Shipping Office, the Seafarers Union of Kenya (SUK) and the Seafarers Assistance Programme (SAP) demanded to know whether the vessel was mechanically sound when it set sail for Dubai. The organisations also want to know if an article of service had been signed between the recruitment agents and the seafarers before they left for Dubai.

SAP Mombasa co-ordinator Andrew Mwangura said it was suspected the vessel was too old to sail and should have been repaired locally or turned into scrap.

"Though the master and the crew took all possible steps to keep the vessel afloat, by January 1, 2005, about 500 metric tonnes of water were already in the hold. The ballast pumps became overwhelmed as the water kept on increasing," Evans explained. The ship was expected to arrive in Dubai on January 17 but sank on January 1.

Four Kenyans and a Tanzanian returned to Mombasa on Thursday after they were rescued by a US navy ship, USS Hue City, which was alerted by the vessel's Dubai agents.

He said the lifeboat turned over as it was being lowered due to rough seas and all seven crew members initially clung together, holding the railing of the overturned boat.

"When the life raft opened itself as the ship went down, five crew members managed to climb aboard. Their efforts to help the master and Gitau were however thwarted by the ravaging waves," Evan added.