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Argentine icebreaker abandoned
after fire
Flames got out of control, captain orders all to take to lifeboats
An Argentine veteran of the Falklands campaign has been abandoned
after catching fire 225km off Puerto Madryn on Tuesday night. All of
her complement of 296 took to the lifeboats.
The Antarctic icebreaker ARA ALMIRANTE IRIZAR, built at the Oy
Wartsila shipyard in Helsinki, Finland in 1978, suffered a fire
with her auxiliary generator late on Tuesday evening and as the flames
got out of control her Commander, Captain Guillermo Tarapow gave the
order to abandon ship.
Her crew and passengers spent hours on liferafts waiting to be
rescued, the Argentine navy said, awaiting the arrival of a tanker and
fishing vessels. No-one is reported to be seriously hurt but doctors
have been flown to Chubut as a precaution. Some of the survivors had
to wait until daybreak to be picked up although most were rescued
through the night.
The SCARLET IBIS, a Panama registered tanker, and a fishing vessel
from Urugay were first on the scene.
Amongst those on board were civilian employees of Argentina's
Antarctic National Command and personnel from the country's armed
forces.
She had just concluded a four month stint taking supplies to bases and
research stations and was on her way back to Buenos Aries when the
fire started just after 10pm of the Tuesday.
Ships and planes of the Argentine forces were either at the scene or
on standby to assist in rescue operations.
 During
the 1982 Falklands War the vessel served as a troop transport and then
as a hospital ship. After the end of the conflict she was used to
return Argentine POWs and injured personnel back to Argentina.
In more recent times she hit the headlines as she tried to free the
ice-bound MAGDALENA OLDENDORFF which was chartered to supply Antarctic
bases in 2002. Although she could not break the vessel free she did
manage to cut her way through to the stricken RO-RO and kept her
supplied with food, medicines and medics.
Photo shows ALMIRANTE IRIZAR alongside MAGDALENA OLDENDORFF at that
time.
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