[1] Because of her checkered career and sinking, Argo Merchant was featured in the "worst ship" category in the 1979 publication, The Book of Heroic Failures.

It was later established that the ship carried two unqualified crew as helmsmen, a broken gyrocompass, inadequate charts, and an inaccurate radio direction finder.

[1] The thirty-eight members of the crew were evacuated, but the shallow waters and weather conditions made it impossible to offload the oil or salvage the ship.

On 21 December 1976, Argo Merchant broke apart and emptied its entire cargo of fuel oil, enough to heat 18,000 homes for a year.

Northwesterly winds blew the 60 by 100 nmi (110 by 190 km; 69 by 115 mi) oil slick offshore, and coastal fisheries and beaches were spared the worst.