Argentina captures a Spanish vessel for presumed illegal fishing in the Argentine Sea.

The Argentine Coast Guard (the Prefectura) has captured a Spanish flagged vessel in waters of the Argentine Sea that was carrying out fishing activities presumed to be without authorisation, Coast Guard sources confirmed to EFE today.

The security service said in a communiqué that the fishing vessel was found inside the Exclusive Argentine Economic Zone and was intercepted by coast guard ship GC 27 Fique, of the Argentine Coast Guard.

Sources of the Coast Guard consulted by EFE said that the Spanish flagged vessel, named as the “Piscator”, belonged to the fishing company De Bon, based in Galicia, and its last port of call was Montevideo.

According to the Coast Guard, the vessel was operating in Argentine waters, at the latitude of Comodoro Rivadavia (1,840 kilometres south of Buenos Aires) when it was detected by a coast guard patrol.

Spanish diplomatic sources consulted by EFE confirmed the arrest of the fishing vessel and stated that the circumstances of when the detection and arrest of the vessel took place must now be resolved, and whether the vessel was carrying out illegal fishing activities at that moment.

After detecting the vessel, the crew of the coast guard ship first established communication with the fishing vessel by radio and audible signals “with the objective of getting the vessel to stop, according to international regulations”, said the Coast Guard in its communiqué.

“The Spanish vessel did not comply with the order and tried to change course seeking international waters, which led to a pursuit. The captain of the coast guard vessel continued its calls over the radio without any interruption, in both Spanish and English, until the vessel stopped”, stated the communiqué.

According the Coast Guard, “an attempt was immediately made to arrange with the captain of the fishing vessel for it to be boarded by an inspection crew, but this was refused and the vessel then resumed it voyage”.

The Coast Guard vessel then began pursuing it again until the “Piscator” again stopped, and was boarded by officers of the Coast Guard.

According to the communiqué the coast guard officers stated that wet fishing equipment was on deck, two tonnes of fresh fish were being processed and there were 250 tonnes of frozen fish in the holds.

According to what Coast Guard sources have told EFE, the vessel, which is 72 metres long and 11.2 metres wide and has a crew of thirty, was being escorted today by the coast guard vessel towards the City of Puerto Madryn (1,470 kilometres to the south of Buenos Aires), where it would arrive on the afternoon of this Wednesday.

According to diplomatic sources consulted by EFE, the Spanish consul of the City of Bahia Blanca travelled to Puerto Madryn to meet the vessel and collaborate over the formalities.

Navantia supplying maintenance support for frigates

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia will provide maintenance and life-cycle support for Norwegian Navy F-310 class frigates.

The "Follow on Technical Support" agreement with the Norwegian Defense Logistics Organization is for a period of three years.

Navantia built five of the ships for Norway under a contract signed in 2000. All are currently in operation.

The ships are 439 feet long, displace 5,290 tons when fully loaded, and have a speed of more than 26 knots.

They are equipped with the AEGIS Combat System and provide the Royal Norwegian Navy with anti-submarine and anti-air warfare capability.

The monetary value and other provisions of the support contract were not disclosed.

"With the signing of this long-term contract, Navantia will put at the disposal of NDLO and RnoN all its knowledge, capacity, resources and the experience accumulated in the design and maintenance of this type of vessels for the Spanish Navy and other navies around the world," Navantia said.

Submarine - Fatal Miscalculation

During the construction of a new (S-80) class of submarines in Spain an error was recently discovered. One of the design engineers had made a mistake in calculating the weight of the sub and, as the first one was currently built, it was nearly a hundred tons too heavy. That means, once submerged, the sub would have a difficult time surfacing. Under some conditions (equipment failure or battle damage) it would not be able to resurface at all.

 

Subs are designed to survive leaks and taking on additional weight (water) while submerged and still be able to resurface. But the unintentional addition of a hundred tons of steel and equipment eliminates much of this margin of safety. The most practical solution is to increase the length of the sub by 5-6 meters (15.5-18.6 feet) thus providing more internal space full of air and buoyancy. This increases the ability of the sub to float. An American firm (Electric Boat) has been hired to help implement this modification, which will delay delivery of the first S-80 sub about two years (to 2017). The modification will increase the cost of the sub about five percent and make the S-80s roomier. That will help crew morale, although the taxpayers are none too pleased with this screw up.

It was a decade ago that the Spanish navy ordered four S-80 "Scorpene" class subs, at a cost of some $280 million each. Construction didn’t begin until 2007, and the estimated cost grew to $700 million per boat. The S-80 is a Spanish design and features AIP (air-independent propulsion). Modern AIP engines for submarines began to appear in the late 1980s, when Sweden installed Stirling type power plants in their Nacken class subs. The S-80s use a new type of AIP.

 

The S-80s are 71 meters (233 feet) long, displace 2,200 tons on the surface, have a crew of 32 (plus eight passengers, usually commandos) and are highly automated. The design also concentrates on quietness and a powerful American built electronic sensor and fire control system. The six 533mm (21 inch) torpedo tubes will also be used for mines and cruise missiles. 

Navantia overhaul of submarine almost complete

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has floated the Spanish navy's S-73 submarine, the Mistral, after finishing 80 percent of its dry dock overhaul.

Dry dock work on the vessel is being conducted at the company's shipyard in Cartagena and, when completed, will give the submarine another five years of service life.

The S-73 is a diesel-powered vessel with a surface speed of 12 knots and a submerged speed 10.5 knots. It entered service with the Spanish navy in 1977.

The dry dock overhaul involved dismantling the submarine, replacing components and equipment in poor condition and then reassembling the vessel. Navantia said more than 15,000 pieces of equipment were removed and inspected, as well as its hull.

Mistral is docked at the shipyard for the remainder of the overhaul, which includes completion of assembly and testing at port and at sea.

The vessel is scheduled to be returned to the Spanish Navy in September, Navantia said.

Spanish navy ships head Down Under

Australia has finalised a deal for the Spanish navy tanker and supply ship SPS Cantabria to spend much of next year working with the Australian navy.

 The Cantabria will deploy to Australia from mid-February to November, a period which covers part of the cyclone season when the Australian navy is short of support ships because of the problems with HMAS Choules.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the Cantabria deployment was a unique opportunity for both navies and would strengthen the relationship between Spain and Australia.

"I am very pleased that the project arrangement for this innovative activity has been signed," he said in a statement.

"It is a very sensible sharing of resources with positive training and capabilities for both the armada and for the RAN (Royal Australian Navy)."

The 19,500-tonne Cantabria was launched in 2008 and is capable of supplying fuel, food, stores and ammunition to ships while at sea.

This will be the Cantabria's longest deployment and will allow the Spanish Armada to trial the ship's full range of capabilities, including the operating and maintenance cycle.

Defence Materiel Minister Jason Clare said many of the Cantabria's systems were similar to what would be on board Australia's new landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships and air warfare destroyers (AWDs), both of which are based on Spanish designs.

"This arrangement will provide an opportunity for RAN personnel to train and familiarise themselves with Cantabria before they go on to crew the LHD and AWD," he said.

During the deployment, the Cantabria will provide support to the RAN during domestic and international training and exercises.

The deployment will culminate with the Cantabria's participation in the Australian International Fleet Review in October 2013.

Spain clears way to host US missile interceptors

Spain gave the final green light Friday for the US navy to deploy four ships equipped with missile interceptors in its territory as part of NATO's ballistic defence shield.

Equipped with Aegis defence systems, the ships are to be deployed at a US naval base in Rota, southern Spain by 2013, along with 1,400 US personnel, under a deal agreed a year ago, the government said.

The government authorised the signing of the deal under a joint defence agreement at a cabinet meeting on Friday, it said in a statement.

"Its principal activity will be to contribute to defending against ballistic missiles," it said.

Leaders of the 28-member NATO alliance gave their backing in 2010 for the Europe-wide ballistic missile shield -- which US officials say is aimed at thwarting missile threats from Iran.

The system will later expand to include land-based interceptors in Romania, Poland, Turkey and The Netherlands.

Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told a news conference that the development of the installations, financed by the United States, would boost the economy in the region, suffering in Spain's recession.

The left-wing political coalition United Left which jointly governs the surrounding Andalusia region along with the Socialists, criticised the decision, however, saying it made Spain "a military target".

Catalans seek independence referendum

Demonstrators hold banners during a pro-independence rally in Barcelona.

Catalonia’s parliament voted Sept. 27 to hold a public consultation on greater self-determination for the rich but indebted Spanish region.

Eighty-four of the 131 regional lawmakers voting backed the call for a “consultation” on the “collective future” of the region, whose government says it is bearing an unfair burden in the recession and wants more control over spending.

The motion did not specify the exact terms of the consultation, but proposed that it be held after a new government is elected in snap elections which the region’s president, Artur Mas, has called for Nov. 25. The government says Spain’s constitution forbids the region from holding a straight referendum, but Mas this week said Catalans had the right to be consulted on their future regardless.

Judicial instruments to stop Catalans: Official

Spain’s deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said on Sept. 27 that for Catalans to hold a consultation would not be constitutional. “There are legal and judicial instruments to stop them, and this government is ready to use them,” she told a news conference.

Mas called the snap election after Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rejected his proposals for greater fiscal independence for Catalonia. More than a million people demonstrated in the streets of the regional capital Barcelona on Sept. 11 in favor of independence for Catalonia.

For Those Who Cannot Afford The Real Thing

Spanish port police recently checked a cargo container going from Turkey to Djibouti (via Algeciras) and found 22,272 starter pistols and 13,500 additional pistol magazines. The container was supposed to contain clothing. These pistols are built to fire blank (no bullets) ammo and have an obstruction in the unrifled barrel to prevent a bullet from passing.

But Djibouti is in Africa, north of Somalia, and Africa has been building crude firearms, and modifying starter pistols to fire real ammo, for many years. Starter pistols cost less than half the real thing, use 9mm ammo and can be converted in a few hours by a skilled metal worker. Starter pistols use lower quality metal because the blank rounds impose less stress on the weapon. The conversion results in a weapon that is less reliable and more prone to blowing up.

Most parts of Africa have a metal working tradition that goes back over a thousand years. The manufacture of crude weapons is mainly to supply hunters, gangsters, and anyone needing an illegal firearm for any reason and cannot afford to buy a factory made model (even the cheap stuff from China). The cheapest of these weapons is basically a single shot pistol firing a .410 (10.4mm) or 20 gauge (15.6mm) shotgun shell. This is for a young thug, or a homeowner desiring protection. These are accurate enough for something within 2-3 meters (5-10 feet). Not much good for hunting. These cost $25-$40 each. These gunsmiths can also make full size (or sawed off) shotguns (single or double barrel), that sell for $80-$250. These could be used for hunting. There are also handmade, 9mm revolvers for about $100. These weapons are found all over the place, mostly among those who can't afford to pay a thousand dollars or more for a factory made weapon. On the down side, these weapons are more dangerous to use, often lacking a safety switch, and prone to exploding, rather than firing, when the trigger is pulled.

The converted starter pistols look like the real thing (an intentional design and marketing decision, and it's legal) and once converted sell for $300 or more. At close range (under 10 meters/31 feet) they are about as effective as they real thing.

Spain announces plant to regulate fishing and bunkering in Gibraltar waters

Spain’s Foreign Minister issued a clear threat to Gibraltar in the latest salvo of words in the fishing dispute. Jose Manuel García-Margallo said Gibraltar’s stance in the row would lead to repercussions in other areas affecting the Rock.

Garcia-Margallo: “this is a two way street”, it all depends on the treatment that Gibraltar gives to “our fishermen

And in a serious development, he made clear that Spain would step up its efforts to regulate fishing, bunkering and other activities in its EU-approved nature site inside Gibraltar waters.

The Foreign Minister’s intervention followed persistent Spanish media reports that the Royal Gibraltar Police was ‘harassing’ Spanish fishermen at sea.

Speaking on Onda Cero radio during a wide-ranging half-hour long interview, Garcia-Margallo was asked about delays at the border and responded by linking them directly to the fishing dispute.

“This is a two way street,” he said. “The approach we take on other issues will depend on the treatment that the Government of Gibraltar gives to our fishermen”.

Garcia-Margallo added that Spain would ensure that Spanish fishermen were “protected” by the Guardia Civil and able to continue to fish close to the Rock. He said Spain wanted a negotiated solution but would “not be given the run-around” by Gibraltar.

The tough talk drew a sharp response from the Gibraltar Government, which said it would not be swayed from ensuring that the rule of law was maintained in Gibraltar waters.

“It is regrettable that official circles in Madrid have still not learnt the lesson that a policy of hostility and antagonism towards Gibraltar simply does not work,” said No.6 Convent Place in a statement.

“The latest threats from Spain are totally unacceptable between democratic partners in the European Union.”

“It is shameful that the government of a large and powerful country like Spain should continue to bully a small country like Gibraltar in this way.”

It added: “It is regrettable that official circles in Madrid have still not learnt the lesson that a policy of hostility and antagonism towards Gibraltar simply does not work”.

The Spanish minister’s comments coincided with the British Government once again restating its position on Gibraltar waters, this time in a written response to a question in the House of Commons.

David Lidington, Britain’s Minister for Europe and NATO, told the Commons that the British Government was “deeply concerned” by Guardia Civil incursions into Gibraltar waters.

“Spanish agencies do not have any jurisdiction in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters [BGTW],” Mr Lidington said. “We are confident of UK sovereignty over BGTW and are committed to upholding UK sovereignty”.

“We make this clear to the Spanish Government whenever appropriate.”

The Spanish Foreign Minister said Spain would soon seek to regulate certain activities inside its EU-approved nature protection site in Gibraltar waters.

The site is the subject of a legal challenge in Europe, but that has not deterred Spain from pushing ahead with plans to increase its role there.