MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Belgrano expedition returns empty handed

The National Geographic expedition that expected to film the Argentine cruiser ARA Belgrano resting in the South-West Atlantic Ocean bed since it was torpedoed in 1982 by the British returned last Saturday to Ushuaia empty handed.

After fourteen days in high seas, awful grizzle weather with strong winds, huge waves and almost permanent drizzle impeded experts aboard the "Seacor Lenga" to sonar check the bottom of the sea. For two days the "Seacor Lenga" together with two Argentine Navy escorts, the "Puerto Deseado" hydro graphic vessel and the corvette ARA "Robinson" had to take refuge in the States Island, in the extreme south of Tierra del Fuego.

This Monday Curt Newport, head of the NG expedition will be giving a press conference in Ushuaia, (MercoPress will be present) detailing what has been done so far, and most probably will confirm that the state of the art, remote controlled mini-sub "Magellan", which was tasked with filming the wreck on the bottom of the sea, "was never plunged into the ocean", because of the adverse climatic conditions.

However according to the local Ushuaia press one of the positive sides of the frustrated expedition was the good spirit and friendliness of the four naval officers that participated in the most single tragic event of the 1982 Falklands war and who 21 years later shared the fourteen days experience and homage ceremony in the high seas. They are Captain Pedro Galazi and First Officer Carlos Castro Madero from the sunken "ARA Belgrano", and former sonar and torpedo experts Kevin Nicholls and Martyn Brown of "HMS Conqueror", the nuclear submarine that launched two accurate torpedoes against of the ageing hull of the American built "General Belgrano".

Before departing the four officers were filmed and photographed by NG crews when they shook hands and embraced in the bow of the "Seacor Lenga" with the snow covered peaks of Tierra del Fuego in the background.

NG is planning to air a documentary on the sinking of the "General Belgrano" next May and apparently will now have to centre the argument in the officers' reconciliation rather than in the actual discovery of the sunken Argentine man-o-war.