Falkland Islands War Round II ????
>>>Interesting. I post this mostly because I had no idea that anybody was drilling off the Falklands. You gotta be careful where you go with seamless pipe. People can take it the wrong way and get real excited.<<<
Argentina blocks shipment in flap over Falklands
AFP
Argentina blocks shipment in flap over Falklands AFP/File –
Thu Feb 11, 9:32 am ET
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) – Tensions between Argentina and Britain rose on Thursday after Buenos Aires blocked a shipment of pipes it said was bound for the Falklands, a south Atlantic archipelago that the two countries went to war over in 1982.
Authorities boarded the foreign flagged "Thor Leader" in the southern port of Campana after learning it was about to take on a cargo of seamless pipes made in Argentina, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Evidence exists that indicate that the freighter was to be used to supply material linked to oil industry activities that the United Kingdom is illegally promoting in the Malvinas Islands," the statement said.
The Argentine action came after Britain announced plans to begin oil exploration and production in the northern basin of the Falklands, or Malvinas as the islands are known in the Spanish-speaking world.
Britain and Argentina's rival claims of ownership of the islands exploded into war in 1982 after the Argentine military seized the islands, only to be defeated and expelled by a British naval force in a brief but bloody conflict.
"The Argentine government had protested on February 2 the renewal of British authorizations for oil explorations in areas of the Argentine continental platform illegally occupied by the United Kingdom," the Argentine foreign ministry said.
It said the shipment of pipes was halted in Campana by the undersecretary of ports after concluding that the freighter had violated Argentine regulations by putting in to the Falklands main port in January without being cleared by Argentine port authorities.
Meanwhile, Techint, a group headquartered in Campana that was shipping the pipes, denied as "totally false" the government's charge that they were bound for the Falklands.
It said the freighter was chartered to deliver the pipes to five clients in various Mediterranean ports, none of which have operations in the Malvinas.
According to the British press, the British company Desire Petroleum is due to begin drilling operations by the end of February some 100 miles north of the Falklands.
"The Argentine government has energetically protested to the United Kingdom over each and every one of the British unilateral actions with which it has tried to explore or exploit natural resources located in national (Argentine) territory in an area that is the subject of a dispute over sovereignty," Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said.
He added Argentina announced in 2007 that it would sanction companies that contracted other companies that have engaged in oil development activities in Argentina's continental platform without authorization.
Argentina has claimed sovereignty over the Falklands since they were occupied by the British in 1833. |
