The frozen cargo ship “FRIO MARATHON”, Panamanian flagarrived at the Port of Mar del Plata from Falkland Islands and the Prefecture notified it due to unauthorized operations in Argentine waters.
Since the promulgation of Decree of the National Executive Power No. 256/10 and its Regulatory Ordinance No. 01/2010, all ships that wish to transit between ports in the Argentine continental territory and ports in the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, or that cross waters under Argentine jurisdiction in the direction of these destinations or load merchandise destined to be transported between these ports, must obtain authorization of the Argentine Naval Prefecture, thus allowing the Argentine State to authorize the operation.
In the specific case of the ship “FRIO MARATHON”, it was operating in Puerto Argentino (Malvinas Islands) of intermittently since 2014 and violations were imposed that could result in millions in fineswhich will be applied when the ship enters the container terminal of Puerto Mar del Plata.
The Prefecture has already officially notified the vessel that administrative proceedings had been initiated against it due to its operation in the Malvinas Islands without the proper authorization of the Argentine State, which constituted a violation of national laws.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Security explained: “The Directorate of Maritime, Fluvial and Lake Traffic of the Prefecture carries out the constant work of monitoring ships and their activities in Argentine maritime spaces using satellite positioning technology. This constant observation has made it possible to create a database of ships that have infringed Decree 256/2010, which is shared daily with the Secretariat for Malvinas, Antarctica and the South Atlantic of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship.”
Once a ship is included in this database, it is tracked through the Coast Guard System until it arrives at Argentine continental ports. At that point, offending vessels are subject to administrative procedures and may face significant fines.
“It is important to highlight that since the implementation of Decree 256/2010, the Argentine Naval Prefecture has identified 683 vessels in alleged infraction and has financially sanctioned 371 of them,” the Government indicated.
In addition, the authorization of more than 1,200 permits was managed for foreign-flagged ships to call at ports in the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands: “This has led to 37 flags, including those under registries administered by the Kingdom United Kingdom, to indirectly recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the Islands by requesting authorization from said country.”
