ARGOS GEORGIA

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Course/Position

Latest news

Interim report: Defective hatch caused sinking

A defective hatch caused the sinking of the "Argos Georgia" on July 22, 2024, while fishing in the Falkland Islands, leaving 13 dead, four of them Galicians, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), stated in an interim report. The investigation pointed to an unacceptable failures in a hatch, which led to the entry of a large amount of water, resulting in its subsequent sinking. In October 2024, thisMAIB published preliminary conclusions pointing to failures in the hatch that allowed water to enter the rest of the vessel due to other internal doors being open, causing the ship to list and subsequently sink. In July 2025, the MAIB has just published a second interim report, emphasizing that the hatch indicated an unacceptable level of stress and a possible failure of the door drive shaft, coupling, and key during operation.. A failure of the opening/closing mechanism could have allowed the frame door to lower to the open position by gravity, rendering the normal closing method unusable. The investigation determined that, prior to the accident, the side hatch on the starboard side of the 'Argos Georgia' was raised and closed. At the time of the accident, according to closed-circuit cameras, the hatch slowly descended to a fully open position. This allowed large amounts of water to enter the vessel. Thus, the crew was unable to reclose the hatch once it had been opened."The interior doors connecting to the maneuvering compartment were open. This allowed water to flow unhindered into other areas of the vessel, causing a significant list that progressively increased as more water entered. The crew was unable to control the passage of water into other compartments of the vessel, which further increased the list until the vessel sank. Therefore, this month, the MAIB sent letters to the vessel's owner and the manufacturer of the hull door with this study.

MAIB Report into sinking published

An investigation by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) on behalf of the St Helena Government found that the shell door in the starboard side of the 'Argos Georgia' had descended slowly into the fully open position prior to its sinking on July 22, en routze from Port Stanley to fishing grounds near the island of South Georgia. This allowed significant quantities of water to enter the vessel. At the time of the incident wave heights were reported to reach up to seven metres accompanied by winds of up to 50 knots. The MAIB Safety Bulletin No SB4/2024, produced in association with the St Helena Governmentwas issued, urged owners, operators and skipper of fishing vessels fitted with side shell doors to ensure suitable and sufficient risk assessment of watertight integrity. It was found that: * The means of maintaining the shell door in the closed position did not ensure it remained shut when not in use. * The crew were unable to close the shell door once it had opened. * The doors in the boundary of the flooded compartment were in the open position, allowing consequential flooding of adjacent spaces. * The crew were unable to close the boundary doors to the hauling compartment. Recommendation All owners, operators and skippers of fishing vessels fitted with side shell doors are recommended to urgently ensure that a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk of water entering the vessel through the side shell door has been undertaken and documented, noting the safety issues identified in this safety bulletin, and that: ♦ Mitigations identified are immediately implemented to reduce the risks associated with a failure of the shell door retention mechanism. ♦ Where a risk of consequential flooding between compartments exists, appropriate measures including maintaining internal doors in the closed position are taken. ♦ The crew are informed of the findings of the risk assessment and the measures taken for their protection. Full report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6704f2383b919067bb482dbe/2024-SB4-ArgosGeorgia.pdf

Sailors laid to rest

On Aug 20, the Galician towns of Vigo, Baiona and Noia said goodbye to the sailors César Acevedo, Santiago Leyenda and Antonio Barreiro, crew members of the 'Argos Georgia', all of whom died in the shipwreck on July 23, west of the Falklands. The bodies of the sailors had arrived during the previous few hours in Galicia, on a flight from the United Kingdom with a stopover in Madrid, and were received at the Coruña terminal of Alvedro by families and friends, as well as by the Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco and the regional minister for the Sea, Alfonso Villares. After the transfer to their respective towns and the wakes, it is planned that they were buried or cremated. The body of the Argos Georgia's fishing captain, César Acevedo, aged 55, was laid to rest in the private funeral home of the Vigo parish of Valadares (where the family received a visit from the mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero. In the case of the ship's cook, Santiago Leyenda, aged 39, the wake was held in the Sabarís funeral home, in Baiona, and at 5:45 p.m. the body was taken to the Collegiate Church of Baiona, where the funeral was held prior to the burial. The second engineer, Antonio Barreiro, from Noia, was said goodbye in strict family privacy with a mass that was to take place in the Apóstol funeral complex in Santiago, before his cremation.