The United Kingdom's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB, for its acronym in English) has released in the last hours its final report on the sinking of the fishing vessel "Argos Georgia." The British agency points out that the crew initially resorted to WhatsApp to communicate the incident, which caused a delay in the activation of the official rescue device.
The shipwreck took place on July 22, 2024, off the Falkland Islands and resulted in 13 fatalities out of the 27 sailors on board, including four Galicians.
According to the MAIB report, in the initial phases of the emergency, the vessel did not issue any formal distress signal. Instead of using the regulatory channels, telephone and WhatsApp messages were sent to other ships with which the crew maintained regular contact and to the shipping company on land.
"The information about the incident was transmitted to land through informal means, instead of through a direct distress alert to the coordinating authority and to the vessels in the area," explains the document, which has been accessed by Europa Press.
According to the report, this form of communication reduced the initial understanding of the severity of the event and postponed the activation of an appropriate response, as it was initially considered that the situation could be "controlled or stabilized."
Around 1:00 PM, the Argos Georgia suffered an uncontrolled ingress of water through a hatch located on the starboard side, which triggered the progressive flooding of the ship.
At around 1:45 PM, the captain notified the situation via WhatsApp, but the official distress alert was not issued until almost 3:30 PM.
"Until that moment, the information transmitted to land indicated that the crew was trying to control the flooding and that the vessel was resisting the ingress of water. At 3:38 PM, additional information was received that the crew was wearing immersion suits and preparing to abandon the vessel," adds the MAIB text.
SHIPWRECK
In its technical conclusions, the MAIB attributes the shipwreck to a massive ingress of water from a side hatch that opened "unexpectedly," presumably due to a failure in one of its components, which would also have prevented it from being closed again.
The document points out that no anomalies were detected in the opening and closing system of these gates because the modifications introduced to correct certain deficiencies did not go through a formal approval procedure.
On the other hand, specialists emphasize: "The delay in issuing a formal distress alert reduced the likelihood that rescue teams would arrive in daylight and shortened the operational margin for an effective intervention, as the severity of the incident had to be reconstructed from information transmitted and constantly evolving," they underline.
FACTS
On July 22, 2024, the Argos Georgia, a longliner registered under the flag of Saint Helena, capsized and ended up sinking while sailing from Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, towards the fishing grounds near South Georgia Island.
There were 27 people on board: 13 lost their lives and 14 were rescued alive. A side gate failed and opened at sea, allowing water to gradually flood the main deck.
The fishing vessel began to list, lost propulsion, and became unmanageable in the midst of a strong swell. Some crew members disappeared during the abandonment of the ship and others died in the lifeboats. The survivors were assisted by other fishing vessels operating in the area and subsequently transported back to Port Stanley.