MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Province of Buenos Aires, Defense Ministry sign cooperation deal

The Tandanor and Río Santiago shipyards will help improve the Argentine Navy's capabilities

Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof and Defense Minister Jorge Taiana signed an agreement for the shipyards Tandanor and Río Santiago to develop a multipurpose landing ship, a polar ship, and a floating dock for the Argentine Navy.

 “It is very important that we work together with the province of Buenos Aires and the Ministry of Defense in projects to strengthen sovereignty and that make possible a greater autonomy of our country,” Kicillof said. “We have the necessary capabilities in manpower, with professionals, engineers, to reactivate the naval industry and we are doing it,” he added.

“We are signing a very important agreement because it seeks to recover the capabilities of our Armed Forces. The construction of a multipurpose ship will allow us to provide a better and faster response to any emergency or natural catastrophe,” Taiana noted.

“In addition, we will have a new floating dock in a strategic place in Argentina's bi-continental area, such as the Ushuaia Integrated Naval Base, which will not only allow us to repair our ships at lower costs but will also give the country the possibility to attend emergencies involving vessels of other flags,” the Minister insisted.

“These projects articulate a work link between two public companies such as Tandanor and Río Santiago and this is also part of our objectives, to continue working in a network of public and private companies that contribute with their capabilities for the production of Defense,” Taiana said.

The agreement covers the construction of a multipurpose landing ship that will provide support and assistance to the population in emergency situations or natural disasters and that will start to be built before August 2023. The dock will also be used to dry-dock vessels in southern Argentina in order to reduce the operating and maintenance costs of ships carrying out various Antarctic campaigns. It will be located at the Integrated Naval Base in Ushuaia and will be able to provide maintenance to the OPVs, the Neftegaz class sloops, and the Meko 140 corvettes, as well as to third-party ships sailing in the Argentine Sea.

Both companies also pledged to work together to carry out the modernization of the Meko 140 vessels, in addition to the participation of Astilleros Río Santiago in the construction of the polar ship, which is currently being carried out by Tandanor.