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A skeleton crew remains on the Libertad held in the Ghanaian port of Tema |
Argentina
argues that the seizure violates maritime law.
The ship
was prevented from leaving Ghana last month, after a local court ruled in
favour of a financial fund backed by an American billionaire.
The fund
says it is owed $370m (£233m) by the Argentine government as a result of its
debt default a decade ago.
It is
seeking $20m in return for the release of the ship, a three-masted training
vessel.
International
dispute
Argentine
Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said Argentina had approached the
International Sea Tribunal, based in Germany, to request the "immediate
and unconditional release of the frigate ARA Libertad and its restocking so it
can leave the port of Temar [in Ghana] with the utmost urgency".
On Monday,
Mr Timerman had given Ghana one day to release the ship or face legal action.
The
government said it saw itself forced to take the case to the International Sea
Tribunal after the Ghanaian government failed to meet its deadline.
Argentina
argues that the ship is a military vessel and was on an official visit to Ghana
and should therefore not have been impounded.
It says the
seizure violates the immunity of military vessels under international maritime
law.
The
Libertad has been detained in the Tema since 2 October. Only a skeleton crew
remain after more than 300 sailors flew home about three weeks later.
Sailors on
board the Libertad reportedly pulled guns on Ghanaian officials last week after
they tried to board the vessel to move it to another berth.
Water and
electricity had reportedly been shut off to the ship a few days earlier in
response to Argentina's refusal to let officials move the ship to a less busy
part of the port.
NML Capital
is a subsidiary of US hedge fund Elliot Capital Management, one of Argentina's
former creditors.
In 2001 and
2002, Argentina defaulted on more than $100bn of debt. Most of these loans were
subsequently restructured, giving creditors about 30% of their money back.
However,
some creditors including Elliot chose to hold out, pursuing the Argentine
government through the courts.
Related Articles:
Argentina orders sailors to evacuate Libertad ship seized by Ghana
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