Foundering of the fishing vessel Argos Georgia with the loss of 13 lives. MAIB Accident Investigation Report 19/2026

Image of Argos Georgia courtesy of Argos Froyanes Limited.

Location: approximately 190 nautical miles east of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Summary
Argos Georgia was a longline fishing vessel registered in St Helena. The vessel foundered while on passage from Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands to fishing grounds near the island of South Georgia. Of the 27 people on board, 13 lost their lives.

The investigation found that the line hauling hatch in the starboard side of Argos Georgia opened unexpectedly. This allowed significant quantities of water to enter the vessel, causing it to list to starboard and founder.

Safety issues
Cause of loss: The manual securing mechanism for the line hauling hatch had likely not been applied and the hatch could not be closed by the crew. This led to the vessel progressively flooding, loss of stability and foundering.
 
Technical and operational failures: The hatch’s drive mechanism had an unidentified design weakness, while open weathertight doors, vulnerable electrical systems and inaccessible manual controls allowed flooding to spread.

On board emergency response: The crew’s response was unstructured, and delays in declaring distress and abandoning ship reduced rescue time. Poor evacuation control, extreme conditions and liferaft damage increased cold water exposure and loss of life.
 
Shoreside management deficiencies: The company lacked effective systems for controlling safety-critical risks and for assessing, escalating and responding to flooding, abandonment and distress emergencies in severe weather and remote waters.

Recommendations
 The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is recommended to amend Merchant Shipping Notice 1873 (F) – The Code of Practice for the Construction and Safe Operation of Fishing Vessels of 24m Registered Length and Over – to include design requirements for shell door arrangements that, as a minimum, require automatic locking arrangements capable of securing doors in the closed position.

Argos Froyanes Limited is recommended to implement a documented safety management system across its fishing vessels.

The Falkland Islands Government, Directorate of Emergency Services and Islands Security is recommended to enhance the Falkland Islands maritime search and rescue communications capability so that direct and reliable contact can be established with vessels in distress within the Falkland Islands maritime search and rescue area of responsibility.
    
     

Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Rob Loder, said:
This was a tragic accident resulting in the loss of 13 lives. Fishing in the remotest and most hostile parts of our oceans requires strict adherence to the maintenance of a vessel’s watertight integrity. Should a problem arise a quick, clear and efficient emergency plan should be executed. Training and safety drills provide the best chance of survival in such extreme circumstances.

A safety flyer to the fishing industry has also been produced with this report.

This investigation was carried out by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) on behalf of the St Helena Government in accordance with the Category 2 Red Ensign Group Memorandum of Understanding.

Source: MAIB.     www.gov.uk