Argentina: Lawmaker demands expulsion of British oil tanker from Ushuaia

A British-flagged oil tanker's arrival in Ushuaia, Argentina, has reignited the long-standing dispute over the Malvinas Islands and sparked criticism from local officials. Juan Grabois, a national deputy and prominent political figure, publicly demanded that the Argentine government immediately expel the vessel, the VS Promise.

Grabois denounced the docking as an "act of treason to the homeland," emphasizing that Tierra del Fuego, the province where Ushuaia is located, has territory under British occupation. "That ship must be immediately expelled and the Milei federal intervention of the port of Tierra del Fuego eliminated. The Malvinas are Argentinian," he stated on social media.

The arrival of the VS Promise, a 228.6-meter tanker capable of carrying approximately 73,800 tons of oil, occurred on Monday. It docked at Ushuaia's commercial pier after operating in the Río Cullen oil terminal. The ship is registered under the United Kingdom flag, with its port of registry in the Isle of Man.

Vice-governor Mónica Urquiza of Tierra del Fuego echoed the sentiment, calling it "inadmissible" that the national government, after intervening in the port citing sovereignty reasons, would permit a British-flagged vessel to operate there. "We are talking about the port of the capital of the province to which our Malvinas Islands belong and a strategic enclave for Argentina in the South Atlantic and Antarctica," she added.