Hurricane strong winds on Saturday blew roofs, knocked down lamp posts and trees and left big areas of Ushuaia, Argentina and Puntas Arenas, Chile without power according to reports from both cities in the extreme south of the continent.
Ushuaia Malvinas war veterans are planning a symbolic repeat of the Falklands military invasion by Argentine forces on the night of April first 1982, although this time the landing will take place along the Beagle Channel coast, according to reports from the capital of Tierra del Fuego in the extreme south of Argentina.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and two IAATO Member Operators, Aurora Expeditions and Oceanwide Expeditions, took part in a live Search and Rescue Communications Exercise in collaboration with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Ushuaia, Argentina.
The Argentine Foreign Ministry denied in a statement released on Thursday that Buenos Aires sea port authorities threatened Bermuda registered 'Queen Victoria' Cunard cruise ship with hefty fines if it did not lower its “red duster” flag, the ensign for the United Kingdom merchant vessels.
The “Gaucho Rivero” bill which bans the access of British flagged (red ensign) or convenience flagged vessels which call in the Falkland Islands remains fully in force for Ushuaia, said Marcelo Echazú, head of the Tierra del Fuego Tourism Institute, Infuetur, on announcing this year’s cruise season.
With faces covered, flags and sticks the Argentine fundamentalist group Quebracho staged a protest in front of Buenos Aires Colon Opera House where the opening ceremony of the International Olympic Committee took place on Friday evening and which includes among its members Princess Anne.
Aurora Expeditions are set to shake up the traditional Antarctic cruise itinerary with the launch of an exciting new ‘Antarctic Gateway’ in their 2014/15 Antarctic program. The Chilean port and nature haven of Puerto Williams will be used as an alternative to the usual Argentinian port of Ushuaia, with voyages either starting or ending on the eco-rich Navarino Island along the Chilean banks of the Beagle Channel.
Argentina’s Antarctica campaigns are losing their flair and the country is having difficulties to fill vacancies for the 2013/14 season. This follows repeated claims of alleged corruption and delays in supplying the bases and stations plus an overall lack of support from the Defence ministry.
Argentina’s ongoing attempts to strangle the Falkland Islands economy by intimidating cruise vessels from calling at Stanley and other islands has been picked up by the Daily Mail in an article written by Ian Drury.
The Chilean government efforts to develop Puerto Williams in the extreme south of the country as an austral tourism centre and gateway to Antarctica received an ‘excellent’ feedback from the recent IAATO annual meeting held in Punta Arenas.