OKOMBAHE (IMO 7634135) Table Bay, Cape Town

OKOMBAHE (IMO 7634135): South African Fishing Vessel | Cape Town Maritime Studies

Explore OKOMBAHE (IMO 7634135), a South African fishing vessel photographed off Cape Town, and its place in southern African maritime history. 

Photographer's Note: OKOMBAHE (IMO 7634135) was photographed by Vernon Chalmers in Table Bay, Cape Town. The image forms part of the Vernon Chalmers Photography Maritime Studies Project and is also published in the Shipspotting.com database.

OKOMBAHE (IMO: 7634135)

The OKOMBAHE (IMO: 7634135) is a South African-flagged fishing vessel photographed by Vernon Chalmers Photography in the waters off Cape Town. At approximately 30 metres in length, she represents the smaller end of the commercial fishing vessels that operate from the South African coast, while her working deck, stern gantry and fishing equipment give her a distinctly industrial character.

Available vessel databases consistently identify OKOMBAHE as a fishing vessel, with the IMO number 7634135 and MMSI 601093500. Current records associate her with the South African flag and callsign ZR7589. Her reported dimensions are approximately 30.7 metres in length and 7.5 metres beam, with a gross tonnage of about 262. (VesselFinder)

The vessel dates from the late 1970s, making OKOMBAHE part of an older generation of commercial fishing vessels that has continued to operate in southern African waters long after its original construction. The available records are not entirely consistent regarding the precise construction year and dimensions, illustrating one of the difficulties of researching older fishing vessels through contemporary online databases. The strongest current vessel records identify 1979 as the build year. (VesselFinder)

Historical fisheries documentation provides an additional perspective. A regional fisheries report records an Okombahe as a Namibian-flagged freezer fishing vessel associated with Overberg Fishing Co. (Pty) Ltd, with a reported length of 27 metres and construction dating to the late 1970s. Although some of these historical particulars differ from present-day databases, the record demonstrates that the vessel name has a documented connection with the commercial fishing industry of the Benguela region. (IW:LEARN Archive)

Vernon Chalmers Maritime Studies

A Vessel Designed for Work

The photographic profile of OKOMBAHE is particularly revealing. Unlike a merchant vessel, whose form is dominated by cargo-handling or passenger accommodation, the fishing vessel is organised around the requirements of catching, handling and processing marine resources. The stern working arrangement and prominent gantry are characteristic of a vessel designed for demanding fishing operations.

This gives OKOMBAHE a different maritime significance from the large commercial ships normally encountered in Table Bay. She belongs to the working fleet that connects Cape Town directly with the productive waters of the southeast Atlantic. Her relatively compact dimensions also make her visually representative of the coastal and offshore fishing vessels that have long formed part of the Cape maritime landscape.

ShipSpotting.com for Maritime Photographers

Cape Town and the Benguela Fishing Environment

Cape Town occupies an important position within the maritime economy of southern Africa. Its harbour provides infrastructure for a diverse fleet ranging from container ships and bulk carriers to fishing vessels, research vessels, tugs and offshore-support craft. AIS records show repeated recent movements of OKOMBAHE through Cape Town, confirming the port's continuing operational relevance to the vessel. (myShipTracking)

The vessel's broader historical context is linked to the productive marine ecosystem of the Benguela region. Commercial fishing in the waters of Namibia and South Africa has historically supported fleets of freezer and other specialised fishing vessels. OKOMBAHE therefore represents not simply an individual ship, but part of a larger maritime-industrial system extending along the southwest African coastline.

Table Bay Maritime Environment Through Photography

Maritime Observation

From a photographic and Maritime Studies perspective, OKOMBAHE is an especially useful subject because her identity is communicated through her physical configuration. The high wheelhouse, communications equipment, working deck, stern machinery and fishing gear collectively distinguish her from merchant shipping.

The photograph also records the vessel in an operational maritime environment rather than alongside a quay. Isolated against the open sea, OKOMBAHE becomes an example of maritime observation through vessel form: even without seeing the crew or the catch, the structure of the vessel reveals its occupational purpose.

Her IMO number provides the permanent identifier that allows the photographic record to be connected with historical and contemporary vessel information. This is one of the strengths of combining shipspotting with maritime research: a single observation can become the starting point for reconstructing aspects of a vessel's technical, commercial and regional history.

Ship Spotting as Photography Hobby

Conclusion

OKOMBAHE (IMO: 7634135) is a modest-sized but historically interesting fishing vessel within the Cape maritime environment. Built during the late 1970s and now operating under the South African flag, she represents the enduring presence of an older generation of commercial fishing vessels in southern African waters. Her documented association with Cape Town and the wider Benguela fishing region gives her significance beyond her physical dimensions.

For Vernon Chalmers Photography's Maritime Studies project, OKOMBAHE provides an opportunity to document a less frequently represented component of Table Bay shipping: the working fishing fleet. Merchant ships may dominate the horizon, but vessels such as OKOMBAHE reveal another essential dimension of Cape Town's maritime identity—the continuing relationship between the port, the fishing industry and the productive waters of the South Atlantic.

Photographic Equipment

Camera: Canon EOS R6 Mark III

Lens: Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens

Photographic Genre: Maritime Photography / Ship Spotting

Location: Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

References

Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem. (n.d.). Commercial fisheries rights holders and vessels report. BCLME Programme. (IW:LEARN Archive)

MyShipTracking. (2026). OKOMBAHE (IMO 7634135). (myShipTracking)

VesselFinder. (2026). OKOMBAHE (IMO 7634135): Fishing vessel. (VesselFinder)

VesselTracker. (2026). OKOMBAHE (IMO 7634135). (vesseltracker.com)