Ghana Releases Seized Argentine Naval Ship
An Argentine Navy tall sailing ship was set free today by Ghana after The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled the ship be released.
The ruling came on December 15, prompting Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs to respond; "It is pertinent to recall that the arrest of the Argentine vessel arises from a dispute between Argentina and a private foreign company. The Government of Ghana is not a party to that dispute," he said in a statement Saturday.
The ARA LIBERTAD was detained in Ghana’s Port of Tema on October 2nd after NML Capital Ltd., a hedge fund trying to collect on defaulted bonds, obtained a court order for its detention. The hedge fund group claims its owed $300 million in government bonds that have been in default since 2002.
The vessel was released after Argentina argued that the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea provides immunity to warships on civil claims when calling in foreign ports.
The tall ship set sail for Argentina early Wednesday afternoon.