“British Tanker” Finds Itself Caught in Argentine Political Battle
The provincial government for the southernmost region in Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, used the arrival of a tanker that it labeled as “British” as the latest step in its fight for control of the Port of Ushuaia. The federal government seized control of the port in January and it remains a hotly contested political battle between the governor, who is an opponent of Argentine President Javier Milei, and the federal government.
Governor Gustavo Melella issued a statement that “condemns and rejects” the arrival of the tanker VS Promise (69,994 dwt) in the Port of Ushuaia. He called the arrival of the vessel in the port "unacceptable," highlighting that it is the province that also claims rights to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands, which they assert are illegally occupied by Great Britain. Local reports highlight that in the same port, not far from where the tanker was docked, is a war memorial to the 649 Argentines who died in the 1982 war.
The province has had a local law since 2011 that bans the presence, mooring, and resupply of British-flagged ships in its ports. Similar legislation was also adopted by neighboring provinces for their ports.
The VS Promise, built in 2007, is a crude oil tanker that, however, is owned and registered by a company in the Isle of Man. The intricacies of the British structure were either not understood (or ignored), as the Isle of Man is not officially part of the United Kingdom, but instead is a possession of the crown. It is a self-governing Crown Dependency with an independent government. The tanker’s homeport is Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man.
Melella, in his statement, is calling out what he sees as the hypocrisy of the federal government, which he says invoked the strategic status of Ushuaia and its need to safeguard sovereignty and interest in the South Atlantic when it took control of the port in January. He demands to know under what political, strategic, and administrative criteria was the tanker permitted to dock in the port.
“The national government attempted to justify the intervention in the Port of Ushuaia by invoking its strategic status and the need to safeguard national sovereignty and interests in the South Atlantic. Today, events have laid bare the contradiction between that argument and the actions the national government has taken since removing the provincial authorities,” the statement asserts.
He goes on to cite the strategic location of the port at the southern tip of Argentina. He says it acts as a gateway to Antarctica and is in a central location for the defense of Argentia.
“It demands the cessation of the intervention and the immediate restoration to the province of the administration of its port, without prejudice to the legal actions already promoted against a measure that we consider illegitimate and harmful to provincial autonomy,” concludes the statement.
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In January the federal government suspended the port authority and placed the port of Ushuaia under a trustee for 12 months. President Milei cited alleged misappropriation of money as well as ongoing infrastructure and operational challenges at the port. The federal port authority said it had taken the decision because of a “lack of concrete responses” from provincial authorities, alongside workers’ complaints and concerns raised by shipping companies operating at the port.
The VS Promise departed the port and is back underway without any more serious consequences. It is heading to the Rio Cullen oil terminal, which is operated by TotalEnergies.
