ARGOS GEORGIA

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MAIB report: Failed shell door primary cause of sinking en route to Falklands

A failed shell door that opened while at sea was the primary cause of the sinking of the 'Argos Georgia' on July 22, 2024, approximately 190 nautical miles east of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, according to an interim report recently released by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), The investigators found that the shell door in the hauling compartment on the starboard side was raised in the closed position. At the time of the accident the door was observed on closed-circuit television to descend slowly into the fully open position, allowing significant water ingress.The report highlighted that internal doors leading from the hauling compartment were open, which allowed water to flow unhindered into other areas of the vessel, causing a significant list that progressively increased as more water entered. The crew members were unable to close the shell door once it had opened or control the progressive flooding, which ultimately led to the vessel’s foundering. Some crew members were lost during the abandonment, while others perished in liferafts during the long-range SAR operation. In response to the accident, the MAIB had issued a safety bulletin in October 2024 with recommendations for all owners, operators, and skippers of fishing vessels fitted with side shell doors to assess and mitigate the risk of shell door failures and consequential flooding between compartments. A subsequent technical investigation completed in July 2025 revealed an unacceptable level of stress and potential failure of the shell door drive shaft, coupling and key while in operation, which could enable the shell door to lower to the open position under gravity and disable the normal closing method. The MAIB has recommended that vessel operators and shell door designers appraise the design of door operating mechanisms and modify as appropriate, with any design changes to be shared with other vessel operators using similar shell door designs. The full investigation has now been completed, and a draft report was being prepared for stakeholder consultation.

Interim report: Defective hatch caused sinking

A defective hatch caused the sinking of the "Argos Georgia" on July 22, 2024, while fishing in the Falkland Islands, leaving 13 dead, four of them Galicians, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), stated in an interim report. The investigation pointed to an unacceptable failures in a hatch, which led to the entry of a large amount of water, resulting in its subsequent sinking. In October 2024, thisMAIB published preliminary conclusions pointing to failures in the hatch that allowed water to enter the rest of the vessel due to other internal doors being open, causing the ship to list and subsequently sink. In July 2025, the MAIB has just published a second interim report, emphasizing that the hatch indicated an unacceptable level of stress and a possible failure of the door drive shaft, coupling, and key during operation.. A failure of the opening/closing mechanism could have allowed the frame door to lower to the open position by gravity, rendering the normal closing method unusable. The investigation determined that, prior to the accident, the side hatch on the starboard side of the 'Argos Georgia' was raised and closed. At the time of the accident, according to closed-circuit cameras, the hatch slowly descended to a fully open position. This allowed large amounts of water to enter the vessel. Thus, the crew was unable to reclose the hatch once it had been opened."The interior doors connecting to the maneuvering compartment were open. This allowed water to flow unhindered into other areas of the vessel, causing a significant list that progressively increased as more water entered. The crew was unable to control the passage of water into other compartments of the vessel, which further increased the list until the vessel sank. Therefore, this month, the MAIB sent letters to the vessel's owner and the manufacturer of the hull door with this study.

MAIB Report into sinking published

An investigation by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) on behalf of the St Helena Government found that the shell door in the starboard side of the 'Argos Georgia' had descended slowly into the fully open position prior to its sinking on July 22, en routze from Port Stanley to fishing grounds near the island of South Georgia. This allowed significant quantities of water to enter the vessel. At the time of the incident wave heights were reported to reach up to seven metres accompanied by winds of up to 50 knots. The MAIB Safety Bulletin No SB4/2024, produced in association with the St Helena Governmentwas issued, urged owners, operators and skipper of fishing vessels fitted with side shell doors to ensure suitable and sufficient risk assessment of watertight integrity. It was found that: * The means of maintaining the shell door in the closed position did not ensure it remained shut when not in use. * The crew were unable to close the shell door once it had opened. * The doors in the boundary of the flooded compartment were in the open position, allowing consequential flooding of adjacent spaces. * The crew were unable to close the boundary doors to the hauling compartment. Recommendation All owners, operators and skippers of fishing vessels fitted with side shell doors are recommended to urgently ensure that a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk of water entering the vessel through the side shell door has been undertaken and documented, noting the safety issues identified in this safety bulletin, and that: ♦ Mitigations identified are immediately implemented to reduce the risks associated with a failure of the shell door retention mechanism. ♦ Where a risk of consequential flooding between compartments exists, appropriate measures including maintaining internal doors in the closed position are taken. ♦ The crew are informed of the findings of the risk assessment and the measures taken for their protection. Full report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6704f2383b919067bb482dbe/2024-SB4-ArgosGeorgia.pdf