Another first for HMS Endurance

“Next Friday, 10th March at 1400 hours the ice breaker HMS Endurance, belonging to the British Royal Navy, will enter dry dock for repair at the Naval Dockyard at Puerto Belgrano.”

( for complet statement of Armada Argentina in spanish see Link)

This statement, issued by the Argentine Navy on 9th March continues:

“This is the first time, since the end of the armed conflict between our country and the United Kingdom that an English ship has entered the aforementioned Argentine naval base”.

“The ‘Endurance’ which was carrying out logistical and scientific tasks in the Antarctic continent suffered severe damage to it steering system, which reduced it’s capacity to manoeuvre safely and consequently to carry out its planned programme. As a consequence it had to have recourse to the technical assistance of the afore-mentioned naval dockyard to solve the problem.”

“The strategic position of the naval dockyard of Puerto Belgrano in respect of the Atlantic and the white continent, in addition to the services and technology available there were the determining elements that prompted the request for the repair of the British Royal Navy ship in this place.”

“Likewise, the assistance that will be offered to this British vessel is set out in the obligations established by the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) for our country and for which the responsibility for their execution and control falls to the Argentine Navy, in everything that refers to the safe-guarding of lives at sea, freedom of navigation and support to all ships of the national and international community, which transit the South Atlantic inside the SAR zone of responsibility (Search and Rescue Responsibility Zone) and require assistance due to an emergency or natural disaster.”

The statement concludes:

“The duration of the repair will be about 20 days and it will be carried out by Argentine naval technicians from Puerto Belgrano and English specialists who will arrive in our country tomorrow morning.”

HMS Endurance displaces 6000 tons, is 91 m. long, 17.9 m. in the beam and draws 8.5 m. According to the Royal Navy, HMS Endurance’s official mission is "to patrol and survey the Antarctic and South Atlantic, maintaining Sovereign Presence with Defence Diplomacy and supporting the global community of Antarctica".

The Argentine naval dockyard at Puerto Belgrano offers a choice of two dry docks capable of accommodating a ship of the size of HMS Endurance. Both are frequently used for the repair of cargo ships, tankers and fishing boats, as well as naval vessels.

The current HMS Endurance replaced the earlier ice patrol vessel of the same name, which figured prominently in the conflict between Britain and Argentina. British historian Hugh Bicheno claims in his book ‘Razor’s Edge’, that the announced scrapping of this last symbol of British commitment to the South Atlantic as part of planned defence cuts for 1982 was “undoubtedly among the ‘signals’ which led the Argentines to believe they could invade with impugnity.”

The old ‘Endurance’ was very much regarded by the Falkland Islanders as ‘their own’ and made frequent and very social visits to Stanley, the Islands’ capital.
The present ice patrol vessel does not seem to enjoy the same popularity and, indeed, was the subject recently of some criticism from Falkland Islanders, including at least one member of Legislative Council, for visiting the southern Argentine port of Ushuaia in January of this year; the first Royal Navy ship to have done so since the 1982 conflict. In the light of this criticism and the need to cancel a planned ‘hearts and minds’ visit to Stanley, it is likely that HMS Endurance’s early return to Argentina to create another ‘first’ will be a cause of some embarrassment.

John Fowler (MP) Stanley