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Caribbean-Latin America
Argentine navy chief replaced amid Libertad row
2012-10-16
The head of Argentina's navy has been replaced following the seizure in West Africa of a naval training ship and its 300 crew amid a debt dispute.

The Argentine government is holding an inquiry into who was responsible for allowing the Libertad to stop in Ghana two weeks ago.

Creditors say they will not release the ship until Argentina repays money owed to them from a default in 2001. An Argentine delegation is in Ghana trying to resolve the stalemate.
Bring dollars...
Navy chief Carlos Alberto Paz has been replaced and two other senior naval officials suspended, Argentina's defence ministry said on Monday.

A statement said the navy's former organisational chief, Alfredo Mario Blanco, had changed the ship's itinerary and was now being investigated. It said Admiral Luis Gonzalez, the navy's secretary general, had also been suspended and was under investigation.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's government has demanded the ship's release, saying it cannot legally be held by creditors because of its military nature.

The Libertad - a three-masted tall ship - was detained in the Ghanaian port of Tema on 2 October under a court order obtained by NML Capital. The firm says Argentina owes it more than $300m (£186m) and it will only release the ship if the country pays it at least $20m.
Posted by:tipper

#6  Sailors.... hey! I get it! they train sailors on it, we should buy it at auction, race it against the Eagle.



Posted by: Shipman   2012-10-16 17:37  

#5  What millenium were these sailors training for?

It's used for cadet training and some 'show the flag' visits; many navies (and the US Coast Guard) use tall ships for this purpose.

Think of it in terms of building cooperation, coordination, and response. Those sails don't furl and unfurl by themselves.
Posted by: Pappy   2012-10-16 16:38  

#4  Pull alongside and use whalers to disembark a squad of lancers, total surprise.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2012-10-16 15:57  

#3  It looks somewhat like the USS Independence. What millenium were these sailors training for?
Posted by: Shinter Javirong9154   2012-10-16 15:37  

#2  Picture at link. It's a navy training ship. Looks like a yacht, not the kind of thing they'd want to use to retake the Falklands. But they could probably make some money by chartering passenger cruises with it.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2012-10-16 12:33  

#1  that's what happens when you don't pay your bills, nationalize foreign investments/operations, and generally act like a tinpot dictatorship with marxist leanings, Evita
Posted by: Frank G   2012-10-16 09:35  

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