MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

One sailor missing as fishing vessel is lost off Rio Gallegos

Freezer vessel Mataco II which was lost near Rio Gallegos. (FIS)

The freezer vessel Mataco II, owned by Harengus SA and the Amaltal Fishing Company, sank Tuesday night some 40 nautical miles (70 kilometres) from Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz, in the midst of a severe storm.

So far, agents from the Argentina Naval Prefecture (PNA) have rescued 43 of the 44 vessel crewmembers, and continue searching intensely for the missing fisher from the coastguard vessel Derbes and a patrol plane.

The Mataco II sank while it was undertaking fishing activities. Its engine failed and was floating adrift when it was surprised by a flash of flood water caused by the storm.

Once the gravity of the situation was confirmed, the captain of the vessel SOS-ed another fishing vessel, the Beagle Channel 1, of his decision to order the vessel’s abandonment, after which the crew boarded three life rafts, Noticias Argentinas reports.

The Mataco II had set off from Port Madryn, Chubut, on 3 April on one of its seven 45-day trips a year. It had landed a total of 4.000 tons of processed and semi-processed fish, raw material that would have been end processed at Harengus land-based facilities.

The vessel was 58.19 metres long, 11 metres wide and with a draft of 7.35 metres. It was equipped with a freezer storage capacity of 5 tons daily. It targeted hake, hoki, squid and kingclip.

The vessel belonged to a joint Argentine-New Zealand Company, Hamaltal SA, which is owed by Harengus SA and the Amaltal Fishing Company of New Zealand.

According to Argentine Coast Guard commander Daniel Mandato, responsible for the Rio Gallegos and Falkland Islands region of the PNA, the rescued crew is “in perfect health, except for one sailor, who has a fractured leg but it's not serious.”

Why the Mataco II went down still has to be determined. “It was a good vessel, it had everything in order. Something went awry when the storm surprised them”.

Mataco II was launched in 2003 and was one of the most modern vessels of the Harengus company. (FIS/MP).-