MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US vessel to survey Argentine waters

US ice breaker vessel the <i>Nathaniel Palmer</i>. <br>(Photo: US Government)

The Federal Fisheries Council (CFP) unanimously decided to authorise the US-flagged Nathaniel Palmer for “[the undertaking of] marine scientific research activities in maritime areas subject to sovereign or national jurisdiction.”

According to Act Nº 6/2008, authorisation was granted by request of the US Embassy in Argentina, which initially proposed the research project. It was further requested that the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development's (INIDEP) onboard observer produce a detailed report of the study once it ended. The Enforcement Authority requires that US authorities remit basic information and a final report "with a priority to Argentina first before it is publicly released." INIDEP requested that Laura Schejter, an expert on benthos, travel aboard the US-registered vessel. She is expected to present a report on the survey once the scientific campaign ends. The Nathaniel Palmeris an ice-breaker vessel that services the US National Scientific Foundation (NSF), a US federal government agency. The vessel is able to carry a helicopter aboard and house some 50 scientists.(FIS)