MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Galician-Falklands fishing fleet complains about Argentine ‘harassment’ in S. Atlantic

Javier Touza, president of the Vigo vessel owners’ cooperative

The Falklands/Malvinas dispute between Argentina and the UK is having its effects on the (Spanish) Galician fleet in the Southwest Atlantic, where most of its vessels operating under the Falklands flag are continually being “harassed” by Argentine patrol vessels, reports El Faro de Vigo in an interview with Javier Touza, president of the Vigo Ship Owners cooperative.

The “harassment” strategy comes “not under the form of vessel retentions but in warnings, intimidations, identifications, communications or permanent reminding of the decree from Argentina which bans the transit through its territorial waters of ships with supplies for the oil rigs operating in the Islands, when we are nothing but fishermen, and that’s all”, complains Touza.

The Galician fishing entrepreneur pointed out that the Argentine patrol vessels strategy is “more intimidating” than based on the “decision to hold up a vessel, but that causes great logistic problems and significant losses because on not being allowed to cross through Argentine waters we are forced to long detours with the increase in fuel consumption and loss of time which many times we don’t have since containers are waiting for our load to be shipped”.

Touza also made an appeal in the name of the Galician fleet for Argentina to respect the principle of “innocent pass” of fishing vessels heading for the Falklands fisheries or to Montevideo, Uruguay, which was always respected. “We have nothing to do with political or diplomatic disputes, we’re only fishermen willing to work and if we are in the (Falkland) Islands it is because that is where the resources are”.

“Given this situation, Galician vessel owners have been forced to order their ships not to cross Argentine waters thus avoiding involving us in a conflict in spite of the negative consequences which this represents for us”, said Touza

“I’m not saying Argentina is not right nor do I question Argentine motives, but there is an international law of the sea and we believe that for political reasons it is not being respected”, concludes the interview with the Galician fisheries entrepreneur in El Faro de Vigo.