The Chilean Foreign Affairs ministry has been very busy doing a complete review of norms and of maritime traffic and international trade agreements in the event of what are considered growing pressures from Argentina to establish a sort of “regional blockade” against the Malvinas Islands, a UK Overseas Territory.
Rockhopper Exploration which recently discovered oil and gas in Falkland Islands waters has appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch to lead the process of finding a partner for its 2 billion dollars oil project in the North Falkland basin, reports the London media.
Due to a reported outbreak of norovirus on the cruise vessel Star Princess, following agreed protocols, the Chief Medical Officer took the difficult decision not to allow the vessel to land in the Falkland Islands as scheduled. The vessel had been due to arrive in Stanley at 8am on the 14th January.
Falkland Islands Holdings has agreed to subscribe for 2 million new shares placed by Falkland Oil and Gas Limited. FIH says the £860,000 cost of the shares will be met from the group's existing cash resources.
UK-based Falkland Oil and Gas (FOGL) announced on Friday it has raised £48.5m (74.3m dollars) through a placing of new ordinary shares to fund drilling of exploration wells in Falkland Islands while it continues active discussions with potential partners for a farm-out.
The Falkland Islands Meat Company (FIMCo) may export up to 30,000 lambs in the coming season compared to 26,000 last year in an abattoir successfully upgraded by local companies, reports the Penguin News in this week’s edition.
The British government said it would resist any attempts to coerce the Falkland Islands through economic or other pressures, and revealed it is holding ‘productive discussions’ with Uruguay, Chile and Brazil to ensure trade and commercial links between the Islands and South America are not compromised by political declarations.
British Prime Minister David Cameron discarded any Falkland Islands sovereignty negotiations with Argentina and said that his government is permanently vigilant about the protection of the Islands and their defence.
A Spanish fishing vessel flying the Falkland Islands flag was barred from entering the alternative port of Punta del Este where she was planning to receive crewmembers. The news was confirmed by Uruguay’s Coast Guard.
The team from BACTEC International Ltd that will be carrying out the second phase of the demining pilot project is in the Falklands are in the Islands and will look to release significant areas of land behind the Stanley Common fence to the South-west of the capital.