MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Ice patrol HMS Protector joins the search for the missing Argentine submarine
The Royal Navy has deployed ice patrol ship HMS Protector to help search for an Argentine submarine that went missing in the South Atlantic with 44 people on board. Contact with the Argentine military sub ARA San Juan was lost three days ago, Wednesday. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesSome of the normally reliable outlets here are describing a report from the argentine navy that it has evidence of seven satellite-based call attempts that are presumed to have been made from the submarine San Juan (other reports say 12 calls). The attempts evidently did not connect with intended recipients at the argentine military installations.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 01:45 am - Link - Report abuse +3Media note here: “Habrían intentado comunicarse siete veces desde el submarino ARA San Juan”
“Hubo 7 llamadas desde alta mar y creen que vienen desde el submarino perdido”
The note describes engaging a US company with satcom expertise that may be able to pinpoint the source of the calls.
Far from being a military threat to the South Atlantic region, this demonstrates that well maintained forces at MPA are an asset to the region in circumstances like these, where the Search and Rescue options are available to help those in distress. If the Argentines had MPA, no doubt the airfield would be strewn with unserviceable aircraft. If only the South Americans could see the advantages to THEM that the Islands have a British infrastructure. Perhaps one day the penny will drop.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 09:43 am - Link - Report abuse +5Peter
Nov 19th, 2017 - 11:29 am - Link - Report abuse -8Far from being a military threat to the Falklands Islands, the docking of the HMS Endurance in Puerto Belgrano demonstrated that “well maintained” international relationships are an asset to the region in circumstances like those, where the Search and Rescue options are available to help those in distress. If only the islanders could see the advantages to THEM that the Continent have an Argentine infrastructure. Perhaps one day the penny will drop.
pgerman, HMS Endurance is about to be scrapped, do you ( Argentina ) want to buy it? A least it floats.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 12:31 pm - Link - Report abuse +3@golfcronie
Nov 19th, 2017 - 12:36 pm - Link - Report abuse -7Trying to avoid a rational discussion? keep trying....
The Falkland Islands government has despatched a team to teach the Argentine navy how to operate rescue buoys and place satellite phone calls.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 12:39 pm - Link - Report abuse +5pgerman The continent has a good deal more than just Argentine infrastructure......it has Chilean infrastructure, Uruguayan infrastructure, Brazilian infrastructure. The Argentine Government policy is to try to block access to this infrastructure, so we create our own.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 01:16 pm - Link - Report abuse +2pgermain, the FALKLANDERS want nothing to do with your country without an infrastructure that is working.The FALKLANDERS have offered their help if required, you know and I know that to use them would amount to “ losing face ” to the whole of SA.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 02:03 pm - Link - Report abuse +2german
Nov 19th, 2017 - 02:22 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Condescending nonsense!
Pgerman
Nov 19th, 2017 - 05:18 pm - Link - Report abuse +2Please return to your sandbox and play with your Peronist toys.
Argie armada now saying that those satellite phone call attempts previously believed to have been maybe from the submarine.... now saying no evidence that this was the case.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 06:37 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Four days and no sign. Not looking good.
Why Oh why do the Argies make up stories and then refute them. Is it because no one believes them anyway?
Nov 19th, 2017 - 07:23 pm - Link - Report abuse +4Comment removed by the editor.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 07:47 pm - Link - Report abuse -1The Falklands have no help to offer. They are just an intermediary to the British. As for infrastructure, the lights are on here, the natural gas turns on, the water is flowing, the high speed turns on, so what are you talking about.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 08:27 pm - Link - Report abuse -10Hey Trolley,
Nov 19th, 2017 - 09:18 pm - Link - Report abuse +3The lights on your submarine are off. And you're getting your natural gas from Chile and Bolivia.
Nostrils, how are the Cartoneros doing. Whats going on in Campo Papa? Those hurricane lamps are very reliable, as for the gas....
Nov 19th, 2017 - 09:31 pm - Link - Report abuse +2We have much higher demand for gas than Chile or Bolivia, so what. As for the military, ive already made my statement many years ago. We should not have a military.
Nov 19th, 2017 - 09:32 pm - Link - Report abuse -7Meanwhile back in Narnia
Nov 20th, 2017 - 11:01 am - Link - Report abuse +3“Boludo”: the kelpers crossed with an Argentine politician
The government of the Malvinas Islands insulted the left leader Gabriel Solano, who rejected the help of England to find ARA San Juan.
(MDZ Politics November 19, 2017 )
Nostrils
Nov 20th, 2017 - 11:50 am - Link - Report abuse +1...shouldnt have a military - agreed, its like letting little children play with knives. As for gas, you certainly arent short of hot air as usual. Does your mum know what you get up to?
pgerman
Nov 20th, 2017 - 12:24 pm - Link - Report abuse +2Seems that in your case, the penny will never drop...and, try to have a rational discussion ? with YOU ? at least you have a sense of humour, albeit warped...
Apparently all those hopes attached to the news about satellite phone calls from the lost submarine were for naught. When the argentines got some international help with understanding where the seven calls came from, it was reported that they didn't originate from their missing boat.
Nov 20th, 2017 - 04:29 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Speaking of missing signals: the failure of the submarine to deploy its emergency position buoy points to the likelihood of a sudden, catastrophic incident.
And now the argentine navy is finally admitting to a message from the submarine shortly before the loss of communication, in which an electrical problem with its batteries is identified. Media are calling this a battery short circuit and reporting that the navy admitted to the boat changing course as a result. Now the navy is insisting that all of this was released earlier but.... isn't it strange that the information didn't make to the media?
We have to wonder what else was known, and when.
Things are simply not looking good. Tragic.
Trollzie
Nov 20th, 2017 - 05:22 pm - Link - Report abuse +1“The Falklands have no help to offer.” That's not strictly true, they do have two lightly/barely armed Fisheries Protection Vessels (which might have commercial-grade fish-finding sonar, but not military/research grade sensors) assortment of aircraft that would be within ferry range of the search area, but wouldn't be able to linger long enough to search.
If the missing sub was on the surface then they might be some use if they strayed into it, but if it was on the surface then it'd have been spotted by one of the Argentine/Brazilian/American/Chilean aircraft days ago.
This is looking less and less like the sort of geopolitics fodder you want. It's been five days since any contact (and that apparently was to report an (as yet unspecified) mechanical breakdown according to the BBC).
I hate to say it, but it's starting to look more and more like a recovery exercise than a rescue mission despite everyone's best efforts.
Why do the Argies seem to lie all the time, it is better to stay silent than say anything that later you have to retract.Foot in mouth is the expression I believe.
Nov 20th, 2017 - 05:40 pm - Link - Report abuse +1golfcronie
Nov 20th, 2017 - 08:35 pm - Link - Report abuse +2“Why do the Argies seem to lie all the time?” Simple, es una nación de boludos!
England will return the Malvinas within 25 years.
Nov 20th, 2017 - 09:34 pm - Link - Report abuse -9There was an interview on BBC 24 with a defence analyst from the us. Unless there is a miracle, it is looking like a recovery mission. Oxygen levels at best are only enough for a few days and although the max. diving depth of the sub is about 1000 feet , the sea bed in the search area varies between 1500 to 3000 feet. The pressure hull could not stand it.
Nov 20th, 2017 - 11:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I hope a miracle does happen as the consequences are terrible to think of.
Was this vessel equipped with an “Epirb”...and if not why not..?
Nov 21st, 2017 - 12:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0Argies cutting corners again as they are fairly cheap really and worth every penny.
Nov 21st, 2017 - 12:38 am - Link - Report abuse 0Looks like it's finger-pointing time.
Nov 21st, 2017 - 03:17 am - Link - Report abuse +3News from argie media is that the defence department here is going to open an internal summary investigation of the argie navy regarding not just the disappearance of their boat, but some of the suspicious circumstances surrounding the significant information that was in some cases withheld, in particular the delayed news that before the boat lost communication, that there had been a report of electrical problems.
Earlier there had been a report of what was perceived to be an undersea noise in the area being searched for the missing boat. That set off a wave of wild speculation in various media and visions of crew tapping out morse code messages on the hull with spanners. But the armada rather quickly quashed that with reports to the media that the noise that had been detected didn't appear to have anything to do with their submarine.
Their boat is still missing and it doesn't look good.
I simply do not understand why the ARA Submarine Command have been so slow in coming forward with all the information regarding her last transmission. There will no doubt be a full enquiry covering ever aspect of the ARA San Juan, her history, her maintenance and the Command Organisation itself. There is still a very slim chance that the crew is alive and may be rescued but that is diminishing with every minute that passes. There is no excuse for the delay of the first 48hrs.
Nov 21st, 2017 - 04:56 am - Link - Report abuse +2For the record, HMS ENDURANCE was decommissioned in 2008. The vessel currently searching for ARA SAN JUAN is HMS PROTECTOR with the Royal Navy's Submarine Parachute Assistance Group embarked, while HMS CLYDE will be arriving shortly
Nov 21st, 2017 - 11:12 am - Link - Report abuse +1All the ships from different nations all take a long time to get to the search area, they can't be there in a couple of days.The FALKLAND ISLAND offered to help but it must be considered that they are a very small nation with limited resources, how many FALKLANDERS are there, 3500 about.Probably got a few cutters but that is it, and certainly no sonar and specialist equipment for the search,
Nov 21st, 2017 - 11:26 pm - Link - Report abuse +2.@pgerman
Nov 22nd, 2017 - 12:07 pm - Link - Report abuse +2“ If only the islanders could see the advantages to THEM that the Continent have an Argentine infrastructure.”
?? Islander flagged vessels are not allowed to use Puerto Belgrano.
The infrastructure the Falkland Islanders use in South America is mostly Chilean.
Remember what happened to 'Argentine infrastructure' at Hookers Point airstrip in the 1970s? (Before the British had to put it right by building Stanley airport properly).
Good luck to the submariners, hope they make it out alive.
If we are to believe argie media, it appears as though Macri and Putin have been discussing the lost submarine.
Nov 22nd, 2017 - 07:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And Russia seems to be interested in joining in the effort.
Presumably the “recovery” phase.
https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/submarino-ara-san-juan-macri-hablara-putin-rusia-sumaria-busqueda_0_H1qLcbXlM.html
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