Most of ARA Libertad crew should be arriving at Buenos Aires late Wednesday

Argentina confirmed on Monday that most of the crew from the training frigate ARA Libertad retained in Ghana is being evacuated and should arrive in Buenos Aires Wednesday night, in a chartered commercial aircraft. Only a small group of officers and 44 crew members will remain on the impounded vessel for maintenance work.

The Argentine Foreign ministry communiqué said that “as it was announced on Saturday, it has been decided to evacuate 281 crew members leaving on board the frigate the captain and a group of 44 sailors to guarantee the caretaking during its illegal seizure. All foreigners on board participating of the instruction trip will also be evacuated in the same operation”

“The seamen will be arriving to Buenos Aires next Wednesday at 20:00 hours in a chartered flight of Air France which was especially contracted to complete the evacuation”.

Further on the communiqué states that the decision to evacuate was made “in response to a ruling by a Ghanaian court, which not only violated international law, but also risked the safety of the crew by denying them the necessary provisions for a docked ship.”

Finally all expenses that result from the illegal detention of the Libertad will be included in the lawsuit that Argentina will file before international organizations.

According to sources, the Ghanaian judge who ordered the impounding also decided to ban the ship from refuelling, assuring it would only lift his decision if Argentina was willing to establish negotiations with the plaintiffs who are holders of Argentine sovereign bonds valued at 370 million dollars and for which they demand full face value payment of principal and interests.

Argentina declared a massive default in 2002/02 of almost 95bn dollars. However between 2005 and 2010 it managed to restructure the debt with a significant shave, but 7% holdouts remain. Some of those bonds are in the hands of funds, which Argentina describes as ‘vulture funds’ and have the sufficient logistics and intelligence to try and recover the value of the bonds or assets, as happened with the impounding of ARA Libertad in an African port.

Last week the NML-Capital fund said it was willing to release the vessel if Argentina deposits a bail of 20 million dollars. In a touch of irony it also offered to pick up the bill for the return of the frigate’s crew to Argentina.

ARA Libertad: Argentine president pledges to never yield to ‘vulture’ funds

Argentine president Cristina Fernández in a national broadcast blasted ‘vulture funds’ retaining the impounded training frigate ARA Libertad in Ghana and pledged never to yield the dignity and sovereignty of the country to these funds.

 “The freedom, dignity and sovereignty of this country will not be retained by any vulture fund” said Cristina Fernandez

“As long as I'm the President, they might retain the Frigate, but the freedom, dignity and sovereignty of this country will not be retained by any vulture fund” said Cristina Fernandez on Monday during the nationwide broadcast from Government House.

The Argentine president questioned the vulture funds that initiated the conflict in Ghana, and said they ”believed they were going to put pressure on the country“ by applying this measure.

”What we went through these past days brings a lot of pain, and I say it as an Argentine citizen,“ the President assured over the conflict.

”I've seen some, luckily very few, who defended the vulture funds that had illegally retained our Libertad frigate in an African port, believing they were putting the pressure on us,“ she continued.

The head of state added ”we all have to be responsible in a country with 40 million Argentines if we want to be free and sovereign”.

Meantime in New York Foreign minister Hector Timerman met with UN top officials: the president of the Security Council, and UN Secretary General with whom it was agreed “to open talks with Ghana to exchange opinions on how to best resolve the conflict between Argentina and Ghana.

The detention of the training ship ARA Libertad was main topic of discussion previously labelled “a worrying precedent for world navigation,” by the government in a communiqué.

Timerman during the round of contracts was accompanied by Ambassador to the US Jorge Argüello, Deputy foreign minister Eduardo Zuian and the permanent representative to the UN, María Cristina Perceval.

According to the official report from Ban Ki-moon’s office, the Secretary General congratulated Foreign minister Timerman on Argentina’s accession to the Security Council during the 2013/2014 period.

In the meeting with Mr. Timerman, the Secretary-General thanked Argentina for its “steadfast support” of UN priorities and welcomed the South American nation’s new Permanent Representative-designate to the UN, Ambassador María Cristina Perceval.

The two men also discussed the ongoing diplomatic incident between Argentina and Ghana over the Fragata Libertad – an Argentine sailing ship used for naval training exercises which has been detained in Ghana’s port of Temma for almost three weeks, following an official request by local authorities.

“According to media reports, a Ghanaian judge ordered the seizure of the ship at the behest of NML Capital Ltd, a hedge fund group demanding full compensation from the Argentine Government following the country’s financial default over a decade ago”.

Mr. Ban “acknowledged the Government of Argentina’s concern for the well-being of its crew members and voiced hope that both Buenos Aires and Accra would find a way to address the issue of a bilateral basis, in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which both nations are parties.