MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Nobody goes ashore as ARA Libertad docks in Chilean port of Valparaíso

The ARA Libertad's crew was ordered to keep contact with Chilean authorities down to a minimum

No crew member of Argentina's training sailship ARA Libertad was allowed to go ashore as the vessel docked in the Chilean port of Valparaíso while diplomatic tension between the two countries mounts.

The Chilean Government had reportedly ordered all activities scheduled for the Libertad crew be cancelled “for health reasons,” in the midst of tensions following President Sebastián Piñera's announcement regarding sovereignty over a portion over the Antarctic continental shelf.

The Libertad crew agenda included a wreath to the monument of General José de San Martín, lunch with local naval authorities and at least two cultural visits to different points of interest. But in light of the strict sanitary measures demanded by Chile's Health Ministry, the Buenos Aires Government ordered those plans be cancelled.

The ARA Libertad will now remain in Valparaíso until September 3. Then she will begin a journey of more than a month that will include various navigation practices to later arrive at the Peruvian port of El Callao where the ship will have an active role in celebrations of Peru's naval bicentennial.

The Argentine vessel will now merely exchange tokens with Chilean Navy officers and refuel before departing for Peru, keeping contact down to a minimum.