On Friday 26 July the Falklands Maritime Authority reported that in the afternoon of Thursday 25 July 2024, the two fishing vessels, the Falklands Robin M Lee and the Chilean Puerto Toro who were involved in the search and rescue operation of survivors from the Argos Georgia arrived into Stanley.
As anticipated a Spanish air force aircraft landed at Mount Pleasant international airport on Friday evening, close to 19:30 hours following a brief stopover in Montevideo, specially sent to return with the Spanish mariners from the Argos Georgia, alive and deceased.
The long extenuating, overexposed incident and tragedy of longliner Argos Georgia during the week has not been without controversy and as such it was pointed out by the autonomous government of the Falkland Islands, epicenter of the heart breaking situation and recovery operations.
Following the incident involving the Argos Georgia this week, the Falkland Islands government Emotional Wellbeing Service (EWS) would like to reach out to members of the community who may be feeling distressed about what has happened. We have spoken to a number of people from across our community who are feeling very high levels of distress due to the incident. We would like to reassure anyone who is feeling this way that this is a very natural reaction to such a disaster, especially in such a small, close-knit community.
The tragedy of the longliner Argos Georgia plus the loss and disappearance of thirteen mariners, and the survival of fourteen, is headline news in Galicia with the city of Vigo declaring a day of mourning and the Spanish foreign minister announcing that an Air Force aircraft will be flying Friday to the Falkland Islands to pick up Spanish crew members.
At mid morning Thursday, fishing vessels in the port of Montevideo turned their sirens on for a few minutes to the memory of the lost mariners from longliner Argos Georgia, believed to be almost unsinkable given its sturdy complexion and modern technology, which sunk in the middle of a dramatic storm in the deep south Atlantic.
The loss of the St Helena longliner Argos Georgia, some 170 miles from the Falkland Islands, and whatever is happening with the 27 members of its crew, mostly Spaniards from Galicia, tells a different far more tragic story of what is happening with rescue operations because of the extreme climate conditions, 35 knots wind and eight-meter tall waves.
The lastest update from the Falkland Islands Maritime Authority, Tuesday 23 July, 2024 approximately 15:00 hours Falklands time, said that on Monday 22 July 2024, the Maritime Authority received information that the fishing vessel Argos Georgia, with 27 persons onboard, was taking on water and requesting assistance some 200 miles east of Stanley.
Following the incident that forced the Argos Georgia’s crew to abandon the vessel near the Falkland Islands, the chair of the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries Carmen Crespo (EPP, ES) said:
The Falkland Islands Maritime Authority reported early Tuesday morning that longliner Argos Georgia had been lost but fortunately, all 27 crew members were able to take to life rafts, and the rescue operation is now surface-centered in recovering the dispersed rafts in extreme weather conditions but with overwatch coverage.