The Falkland Islands Maritime Authority has confirmed 14 crew have been rescued, while four remain missing and nine perished following the sinking of the F/V Argos Georgia toothfish-fishing vessel on 22 July.
Thirteen of the rescued crew were rescued by the British patrol vessel Lilibet, which pulled them from a life raft, and another crewmember was saved by Falklands-flagged toothfish vessel F/V Robin M. Lee, which also found one deceased crew member. The Chile-flagged icefish-fishing vessel F/V Puerto Toro was able to secure a third life raft containing the bodies of two crew, according to Faro de Vigo. In total, nine bodies have been recovered – including three Russian crew, according to the Moscow Times – and their families are being notified by the vessel’s owner, Argos Froyanes, a privately owned British-Norwegian partnership between Argos and Ervik Havfiske.
The survivors, which include 10 Spaniards, including the ship’s captain, first officer, chief engineer, and two fisheries observers, have been brought to Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, and are receiving treatment at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, according to the Falkland Islands government. They spent an estimated 21 hours in life rafts in horrendous conditions, including 135-kilometer-per-hour winds and 8-meter-high waves.
Worsening weather forced the combined force of rescuers from British Forces South Atlantic Islands and the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, along with local officials in the Falkland Islands, to suspend the search for the remaining four missing crew on Tuesday, 23 July, but the search resumed on Wednesday, 24 July. Two of those missing are Spanish.
“Due to consideration of all circumstances, including the weather conditions forecasted and the safety of those involved in operations, the decision has been made to stop the search and rescue efforts. A further recovery effort will be made to find those still at sea as soon as this is practicable,” the Falkland Islands government said in a statement.
The Argos Georgia had unloaded its cargo last week at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands and was on its way back to fishing grounds around 170 miles southeast of the islands when the boat's hull began to leak, leading to what officials called "uncontrolled flooding,” according to Faro de Vigo.
The government of the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia confirmed in a statement on X it will pursue an investigation of the incident. Several of the Argos Georgia crew originated from Galicia, a hub of the country’s fishing industry.
The Falkland Islands government and several Spanish fishing companies have issued public condolences to the families of the lost crew. European Parliament Fisheries Committee President Carmen Crespo did the same in a statement.
“My thoughts are with the fishermen who disappeared in the Falkland Islands and their families. We sincerely hope that his rescue will be completed soon,” Crespo said.
