British-Flagged Oil Tanker Docks at Ushuaia, Reigniting Malvinas Sovereignty Dispute

The British-flagged crude oil tanker VS Promise moored at the port of Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego) on August 25, 2026, after loading cargo at the provincial Río Cullen facility, before continuing toward the Beagle Channel. The port has been under national government intervention (via the National Port and Navigation Agency, ANPyN) since January 2026 following alleged embezzlement by the prior provincial operator. Tierra del Fuego Governor Gustavo Melella's administration formally protested to the national government, with provincial Secretary for Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic Affairs Andrés Dachary calling the docking 'without precedent' and 'inadmissible' given provincial law that explicitly bars UK-flagged vessels from mooring, provisioning, or operating in Fueguian ports as part of Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands. Casa Rosada spokesperson Adrián Ravier and the national government rejected any illegality, saying the vessel had not operated in the Malvinas basin and was merely making a logistics and provisioning stop. Two days later, on August 27, provincial prosecutor Virgilio Martínez de Sucre gave Melella a 15-day deadline to report on the province's response to the ship's movements.