An Argentine ship has been caught in Falklands waters 'snooping for oil', the Royal Navy has revealed.
HMS Clyde was scrambled to see off a ship from the Argentine navy thought to be prodding military defences in seas off the Falkland Islands on September 2.
The Argentinian survey ship ARA Puerto Deseado switched off her satellite tracker and sailed up to the edge of British territorial waters on Sunday afternoon.
Royal Navy confronts Argentine vessel 'snooping for oil' near Falkland Islands
HMS Clyde meets Falkland Islands residents
Dominic Nicholls, Defence correspondent
6 September 2018
The Telegraph
An Argentine ship has been caught in Falklands waters 'snooping for oil', the Royal Navy has revealed.
HMS Clyde was scrambled to see off a ship from the Argentine navy thought to be prodding military defences in seas off the Falkland Islands on September 2.
The Argentinian survey ship ARA Puerto Deseado switched off her satellite tracker and sailed up to the edge of British territorial waters on Sunday afternoon.
The Royal Navy patrol vessel stationed in the Falkland Islands, HMS Clyde, reacted swiftly after the Argentinian vessel changed course and speed towards the 12-mile territorial limit.
The stand-off ended when ARA Puerto Deseado, bristling with equipment to investigate the depths of the ocean, retreated and turned on her tracker again. She returned to port the next day.
HMS Clyde, a River Class Patrol Ship.
Nick Childs of the International Institute for Strategic Studies says it was a fairly minor incident and part of the nature of maritime operations, especially when compared to the military probing immediately after the Falklands War.
However, he said "the maritime domain is increasingly contested globally and this incident shows how the Navy is increasingly being pulled in all sorts of directions at the same time with limited resources".
Former captain of frigate HMS St Albans, Commander Tom Sharpe, suggested the Argentinian ship had been snooping for oil reserves. He thought the response from HMS Clyde had been timely, proportional and appropriate, and therefore had the desired effect.
"Not intercepting for fear of being seen to overreact or, worse still, because of insufficient resources - using 'not wishing to over-react' as an excuse - is unacceptable and a road we have trodden before in this part of the world," he said.
"This type of operation is precisely what navies should do. Do we need a frigate or destroyer in the South Atlantic all the time? Not necessarily. This in no way should take anything from the excellent HMS Clyde, operating alone and unafraid around the clock in some of the most hostile waters on the planet."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "This was unusual activity rather than illegal or confrontational. We are comfortable with vessels working in that area, but it was the course and speed [of the Argentinian ship] towards the islands which was unusual".
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...gentinian-vessel-snooping-oil-near-falklands/
HMS Clyde was scrambled to see off a ship from the Argentine navy thought to be prodding military defences in seas off the Falkland Islands on September 2.
The Argentinian survey ship ARA Puerto Deseado switched off her satellite tracker and sailed up to the edge of British territorial waters on Sunday afternoon.
Royal Navy confronts Argentine vessel 'snooping for oil' near Falkland Islands
HMS Clyde meets Falkland Islands residents
Dominic Nicholls, Defence correspondent
6 September 2018
The Telegraph
An Argentine ship has been caught in Falklands waters 'snooping for oil', the Royal Navy has revealed.
HMS Clyde was scrambled to see off a ship from the Argentine navy thought to be prodding military defences in seas off the Falkland Islands on September 2.
The Argentinian survey ship ARA Puerto Deseado switched off her satellite tracker and sailed up to the edge of British territorial waters on Sunday afternoon.
The Royal Navy patrol vessel stationed in the Falkland Islands, HMS Clyde, reacted swiftly after the Argentinian vessel changed course and speed towards the 12-mile territorial limit.
The stand-off ended when ARA Puerto Deseado, bristling with equipment to investigate the depths of the ocean, retreated and turned on her tracker again. She returned to port the next day.
HMS Clyde, a River Class Patrol Ship.
Nick Childs of the International Institute for Strategic Studies says it was a fairly minor incident and part of the nature of maritime operations, especially when compared to the military probing immediately after the Falklands War.
However, he said "the maritime domain is increasingly contested globally and this incident shows how the Navy is increasingly being pulled in all sorts of directions at the same time with limited resources".
Former captain of frigate HMS St Albans, Commander Tom Sharpe, suggested the Argentinian ship had been snooping for oil reserves. He thought the response from HMS Clyde had been timely, proportional and appropriate, and therefore had the desired effect.
"Not intercepting for fear of being seen to overreact or, worse still, because of insufficient resources - using 'not wishing to over-react' as an excuse - is unacceptable and a road we have trodden before in this part of the world," he said.
"This type of operation is precisely what navies should do. Do we need a frigate or destroyer in the South Atlantic all the time? Not necessarily. This in no way should take anything from the excellent HMS Clyde, operating alone and unafraid around the clock in some of the most hostile waters on the planet."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "This was unusual activity rather than illegal or confrontational. We are comfortable with vessels working in that area, but it was the course and speed [of the Argentinian ship] towards the islands which was unusual".
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...gentinian-vessel-snooping-oil-near-falklands/
