Norwegian-British fishing company Argos Froyanes has itself stressed the challenges of its highly specialized fishing operations, “from perilous icebergs and unpredictable weather to rogue waves and an elusive catch.” Tragedy struck during a hurricane in the southern Atlantic this week, when one of its modern fishing vessels, the Argos Georgia, capsized and sank near the Falkland Islands.
Nine crew members had been confirmed dead and four were still missing as of Wednesday, according to reports in both Norwegian and British media. News bureau Reuters reported that four persons remained missing while 14 were found alive, 13 of them on board one of the Argos Georgia‘s lifeboats and one on another.
Argos Froyanes is described on its own website as a privately owned British-Norwegian partnership between Argos, based in the Falkland Islands, and Ervik Havfiske, based at Stadlandet in Western Norway. Eleven Ervik Havfiske vessels have been operating from the Barents Sea off Norway to as far south as Antarctica, areas known for rough weather and sea conditions but also for being home to high-quality fish in deep waters.
The Argos Georgia, built in 2018 and designed for rough conditions at sea, specialized in longline fishing for Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish, also known as Chilean seabass. Argos Froyanes calls it “a highly specialized and tightly regulated fishery” that demands sustainable methods for catching the “scarce deep-water species” that’s considered a global delicacy. The vessel also often carried marine researchers on board.
It sent out its first Mayday on Monday night, which also was picked up by the search and rescue operation HRS in Southern Norway. The crew headed for the lifeboats within a half-hour but Per Hognaland of HRS told Norwegian Broadasting (NRK) that rescue crews in the area faced “extremely poor” weather conditions, with strong winds and waves up to eight meters. “They tried with a helicopter but that didn’t work because of the weather,” Hognaland told NRK. “It’s blowing at 65 knots, that’s a hurricane.”
Smaller boats also faced peril but a larger ship was able to help localize the lifeboats. Officials in Spain have also been following the drama at sea, since 10 Spanish citizens were among the 27-member crew. No Norwegian citizens were on board, according to Robert Ervik of Ervik Havfiske, with the rest of the crew coming from Uruguay, Peru, Indonesia and Russia.
Ervik lamented the loss of life after years of good safety records and a commitment to crew welfare through various California- and ILO-based conventions. “The boat is just a hull, it’s the people who are important,” he told NRK. “Our thoughts and our efforts right now are aimed at the crew members and their families.”
Ervik said he and his colleagues in Norway “feel a bit helpless” in being able to actively handle such a tragedy “on the other side of the world,” but he said Argos and Ervik Havfiske had set up crisis teams on the Falkland Islands to help survivors of the ordeal. All were being sent directly to the Falklands’ only hospital, King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. “The crew and their families will be well taken care of when they arrive,” Ervik told NRK.
The government in the Falkland Islands thanked everyone who took part in the rescue efforts, which continued Wednesday when other fishing vessels could also finally take part in a search for the sunken ship and missing crew members. The actual cause of the sinking remained unclear. Ervik said there had never been any problems with the Argos Georgia, a so-called “longliner” built at the Tersan shipyard in Turkey and classified by Oslo-based DNV GL.
It’s a huge setback for vessel operator Argos Froyanes, which prides itself on safety, sustainability and what it called its owners’ “shared vision for the future of the world’s most sensitive fisheries.” Argos is a founding member of both the South Georgia- and Ross Sea Marine Stewardship Council Client Groups that also seek to raise environmental standards “across the industry as a whole.” Argos, which operates the Ervik vessels, fishes mainly in an area first certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as being sustainable in 2004, and regularly audited and recertified.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
