The day before, the frozen cargo ship (reefer) “FRIO MARATHON” (IMO 8916229), flagged Panama, arrived at the port of Mar del Plata Port from the Malvinas Islands and through the personnel of the Prefecture of Mar del Plata. Plata was officially notified that administrative action has been initiated for having operated in the Malvinas Islands without permission from the Argentine State, violating national regulations, which shows the continuous efforts of this Maritime Authority to enforce existing regulations and exercise the sovereignty of our Islands.

Since the promulgation of National Executive Power Decree no. 256/10 and its Regulation No. 01/2010, all ships wishing to transit between ports located in the continental region of Argentina and ports located in the Malvinas, South Georgia and Sandwich Islands in the South, or crossing Argentinian jurisdictional waters towards these ports and/or loading merchandise for transported directly or indirectly between these ports, must request permission through the Argentine Naval Prefecture so that the Argentine state permits the operation.

Therefore, through the Prefectural Directorate of Maritime, River and Lake Traffic, every day, 24 hours a day and throughout the year, a heavy duty is carried out to monitor ships and the activities they carry out in ports. in line with the maritime domain concept promoted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Permanent observation of these ships, based on satellite positioning technology, allows the creation of a database of ships in violation of Decree 256/2010, which is reported daily to the Malvinas, Antarctic and South Atlantic Secretariat, depending on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. International Trade and Worship Affairs.

From their incorporation into that database, via the Coast Guard System, they are monitored until they arrive at Argentina’s continental ports, at which point the offending vessels are subject to administrative action and subject to heavy fines.

Concerning the specific case of the B/M “FRIO MARATHON” (IMO 8916229), coming in ballast (empty) from Puerto Argentino (Malvinas Islands), which has been operating intermittently since 2014, it is therefore engraved with a violation for which the Penalty could reach several million pesos, a measure that will become effective when the offending vessel enters the container terminal at the port of Mar del Plata.

It is noteworthy that, since Decree 256/2010 came into force, the Argentine Naval Prefecture has detected 683 ships suspected of violations and fined 371 of them, managing the authorization of more than 1,200 permits for foreign-flagged ships to call. The Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which account for 37 flags, including those registered under British administration, indirectly recognize through this process the country’s sovereignty over our Islands by requesting authorization from our country.