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 Falkland Islands Maritime Authority reported an emergency situation involving the fishing vessel Argos Georgia on Monday, July 22, 2024. The vessel, with 27 crew members on board, began taking on water approximately 200 miles east of Stanley, prompting an immediate request for assistance.
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.
A major rescue operation is underway to the east of the Falkland Islands to help a fishing vessel in distress. On Monday afternoon the Falkland Islands 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.