LIMA (Reuters) – Argentina’s president yesterday ordered 326 sailors to evacuate a Navy frigate that was seized in Ghana to help bondholders try to recoup debts from the South American country’s 2002 default.
The Libertad, a training frigate, was detained in the Ghanaian port of Tema on Oct 2 under a court order obtained by NML Capital Ltd, an affiliate of investment firm Elliott Management.
The firm says Argentina owes it over $300 million on defaulted sovereign bonds and it will only release the ship if the country pays it at least $20 million.
President Cristina Fernandez, according to Argentina’s foreign ministry, said the crew’s human rights were being violated because the judge had prohibited fuel deliveries to the ship – leaving it without power needed for plumbing, electricity, keeping food fresh and responding to emergencies such as a fire.
Argentina has condemned the seizure, said it could not be targeted by creditors due to the ship’s military nature, and vowed to press its case at the United Nations. A Ghanaian court ruled that Argentina forfeited such immunities when it issued the bonds.
