In one fisherman’s tale, a Spanish crew from the Galician coast crosses paths with a Chinese-flagged jigger off the Southern Cone. A pair of ships share a name and a cluster of similarly styled numbers on their hulls: Lu Rong Yuang Yu 178, 696, 667, 678, and 698. The first vessel carries twenty-seven sailors from Morracense, owned by Pesqueras Gadimar, while the others ferry around twenty crew members for Rongcheng Rongyuan Fishing. The encounter unfolds like a drifting script: a shipwreck without loss of life and a cinematic chase that stretches over more than three days. The denouement? A well-preserved 55-meter vessel, built in 1988 by Astilleros Gondán, stands as a testament to the integrity of Galician seafarers.
By February 2020, the Southern Cone fishing grounds lie within two hundred miles of Argentine waters. The details derive from investigations led by the Permanent Marine Accidents and Incidents Investigation Commission (Ciaim) under the Ministry of Transport, released in recent weeks. Playa de Rodas sails south to explore new grounds when she sights Lu Rong Yuang Yu 178 about two miles away. The pressing question shifts from how the collision happened to why it happened, a point analyzed by Faro de Vigo of the Prensa Ibérica group, which points to a lapse on the command bridge of the Bueu fishing vessel. What followed was a careful, methodical assessment of the sequence of events.
The collision occurred at 3:10 a.m. on the starboard side of Playa de Rodas as it struck the starboard side of Lu Rong Yuang Yu 178. After confirming no leaks, the captain attempted to establish contact with the Chinese-flagged vessel but received no reply. Communication with the other ship was nearly nonexistent. Soon, a second jigger from the same company approached the scene. Crews began dismantling and unloading equipment, supplies, and catches by hand and with cranes, while radial cuts were made to loosen starboard articulated arms and items were tossed into the sea to free space for squid fishing. A third Lu Rong unit arrived on the site roughly four hours after impact.
The Playa de Rodas’s captain could briefly communicate with the other captain, who offered bilge pumps to control a leak. The Chinese crew declined. Lu Rong Yuang Yu 178 would sink hours later, its crew lost in the attempt to tow the vessel after the initial impact. With little willingness to aid in contacting or assisting, the ship steering away from the scene continued its fishing mission. The vessel’s stability remained intact enough to allow for dry-dock repairs in Montevideo, and the crew would return to work only after the ship was secured.
The following day, February 11, Playa de Rodas faced increasing pressure as three more vessels bearing the same name but different endings — 058, 678, and 698 — approached. Flares lit up its deck, and attempts to sabotage the propulsion system were reported, including rope lines lowered to impede the propeller. The crew received threats by phone as the Fisheries Monitoring Centre coordinated with Madrid for additional protection within two hundred miles of Argentina’s coast. In the end, intervention was not required, but the incident forced Playa de Rodas to pause operations until February 13, when normal activity could resume. The careful handling of the situation underscores the risks and responsibilities that accompany offshore fishing in the region.