8 Dead & 7 Missing After Flooded Fishing Vessel Sinks Off The Falkland Islands

The fishing vessel FV Argos Georgia sank in the South Atlantic, about 200 miles off the coast of the Falkland Islands, killing at least 8 people and leaving 7 more missing.

The freezer longliner, built in 2018, was carrying 27 crew members when it experienced significant flooding, forcing the crew to abandon the ship in extreme weather conditions.

The Argos Georgia departed Port Stanley on July 21, 2024, heading towards its fishing grounds.

On July 22, 2024, the vessel reported heavy flooding 200 miles east of the port.

As the situation deteriorated, the crew abandoned the ship and boarded life rafts before the vessel sank.

The British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) launched a long-range search aircraft to locate the rescue rafts and maintain their position.

A fisheries patrol vessel and two Good Samaritan fishing vessels were dispatched to assist.

However, an attempted helicopter rescue effort by BFSAI was called off due to adverse weather conditions, including wave heights of up to 25 feet, according to Argentine news outlet InfoBae.

A Falkland Island police vessel rescued 13 crew members from one life raft, while a Good Samaritan fishing vessel rescued one survivor and recovered one deceased crew member from another.

Seven more bodies were found by the night of July 23, 2024, resulting in eight confirmed fatalities and 14 known survivors.

The Falkland Islands government stated that several crew members had been rescued and that the search for the missing continues.

The Falkland Islands Government’s head of communications, Sally Heathman, told CNN that this is a developing situation and that they will provide no more comment.

The Argos Georgia was a 160-foot freezer longliner operating in the Patagonian toothfish fishery off South Georgia.

EFE reports that ten of the crew members were Spanish nationals from the Galician fishing industry.

Carmen Crespo, the chair of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee, expressed solidarity with the Galician people, stating that the accident highlights the harsh reality of fishing activity and the risk the sea professionals experience.

The search and rescue operation is being carried out by a number of entities, including the governments of the Falkland Islands, HQ British Forces South Atlantic Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the Argos Georgia management company, and other fishing vessels at sea.

Following the sinking alert, Argentina’s Navy launched search and rescue operations.

The search operation, involving helicopters and vessels, will continue.

Rescued crew members are being transferred to Stanley’s King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for medical examinations.

The Falkland Islands government expressed condolences to the families involved in this unfortunate incident.

Reference: CNN, BBC

8 Dead & 7 Missing After Flooded Fishing Vessel Sinks Off The Falkland Islands appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News