The disclosure confirmed what relatives of the 44 sailors on board had feared: that the vessel had been experiencing equipment malfunction.
MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina — The Argentine Navy disclosed on Monday that the crew of a missing submarine had been ordered to return to its home port on Wednesday after reporting a battery failure.
The revelation was the first official confirmation that the Navy had known since Wednesday — when the submarine vanished — that the vessel was contending with equipment malfunction and might have the lost the ability to propel itself.
“We had communication with the commander, who said he was heading to Mar del Plata,” Capt. Gabriel Galeazzi of the Argentine Navy told reporters Monday morning.
A multinational effort is underway to try to locate the submarine and its 44-member crew, amid mystery about what happened to the vessel. While families of the missing sailors are holding out hopes for their survival, the disclosure about mechanical failure is likely to add to fears that the crew has been lost.
The navy said on Monday that satellite phone calls made from the search area on Saturday — prompting hope that they could signal the crew was alive — were not made from the missing submarine.
Also on Monday, President Mauricio Macri of Argentina traveled to the naval base in Mar del Plata to meet with relatives of the crew.
The developments came as a team from several nations raced against time and battled stormy seas in a frantic effort to find the vessel in a 186-square-mile search area off the cost of Argentina’s Patagonia.
Waves towered as high as 22 feet, while thunderstorms and powerful gusts of wind hindered the visibility and mobility of Argentine, American, British, Chilean and Brazilian military personnel scouring the area in ships and aircraft.
“These are less than favorable conditions that do make things difficult,” said Cmdr. Erik Reynolds, a United States Navy spokesman. “You’re talking about 44 sailors out there. If they’re in trouble, there’s a finite amount of time to get to them, so I think there is a great deal of concern by the international community.”
The mystery surrounding the fate of the crew aboard the San Juan, a German-made submarine that has been part of Argentina’s fleet since 1985, has transfixed the nation since news of its disappearance broke early Friday. The submarine last made radio contact on Wednesday.
Roughly 200 family members of the service members onboard were invited to await news at the Mar del Plata Naval Base in this seaside city, where two psychologists and one psychiatrist were on hand.
“This has turned into one big family, and we are all helping each other get through this difficult time,” María Morales, 51, the mother of crew member Luís García, said in an interview. “Sadly we don’t have any news, but at least there is no bad news.”
On Sunday, Argentine Navy officials sought to temper hopes raised the previous day by reports of the satellite phone calls.
Iridium officials have repeatedly called the company’s satellite phone onboard the vessel since Friday, but have had no luck getting through, according to an employee familiar with the effort who was not authorized to speak on the record. Argentine officials would not say whether the vessel had other satellite phones onboard.
