A little over the distance from Antarctica to the American continent, and with air temperatures around 6ºC and sea temperatures near 9ºC, hopes for the sinking of the Argos Georgia survived in the three life rafts that were boarded at 21:23 local Spanish time on Monday. The 54-meter fishing vessel with a beam of 13 meters suffered a hull breach at 19:11 (Spanish time, five hours behind Falklands), throwing 27 crew into the sea 132 minutes later in three rafts.
In those rafts were found, in this order and up to now, the first death and an Indonesian crew member still alive on the Robin M. Lee, two more on the Puerto Toro, and the 13 survivors by the patrol vessel Lilibet. The latter were found 21 hours after they jumped from the ship.
These inflatable boats have a capacity of between 12 and 16 people each, which would ensure that all the other crew members aboard the reef-fishing vessel belonging to Argos Froyanes could be inside them.
Launching the lifeboats
There are two mechanisms for launching these lifeboats: by captain’s order in an emergency or after a shipwreck.
In the first case, all crew members gather at the muster point and leave the vessel in a coordinated manner. In the second, beacons activate and the boats are launched at a distance of 2 to 4 meters.
The vessel must have space on both sides ports of call for the entire crew, even exceeding the usual capacity. This allows lifeboats to be lowered even if the ship heels up to 30º.
Added are immersion suits and life jackets, usually located on the bridge or near the lifeboat locations. In the Vila de Pintanxo wreck, the lack of training in this area constrained mariners from evacuating, resulting in eight deaths from hypothermia.
In that sense, Argos Froyanes emphasizes that its crew “are true professionals and undergo periodic training for such a situation. We trust their ability to use safety equipment in the best way,” summarized. The law requires a survival course certificate and monthly drills aboard the vessel.
Interior equipment
These lifeboats can be round or square, though the round ones are usually preferred for easier use.
Inside they carry water, rations, blankets, and a first-aid kit with items from basic first aid to motion-sickness pills to prevent seasickness.
They also include an auxiliary anchor that acts as a ballast to counter the wind or swell and prevent the raft from capsizing.
Salvage operation specialists note that in the past boats could withstand as long as water and food lasted. The emergence of telecommunications systems has since limited this to waiting for rescue assets to arrive.
Sea conditions
The main obstacle for the operation involving Galician-flagged ships like the Robin M. Lee is the prevailing winter in the Southwest Atlantic. “There are 35 knots of wind and waves up to 8 meters and worsening,” report Galician fleet captains in the Falklands to a news outlet .
A government statement from the Falkland government described the weather as “extremely challenging.” This, coupled with the search area being far from the coast, limits air resources on scene. One helicopter even had to abort the search to return to Stanley for refueling .
In fact, last October a U.S. sailor was rescued after two weeks adrift in one of these lifeboats .