Charge d’Affaires Luis Martino (second left) stands next to the Libertad ’s captain Guillermo Tyburec (third from left) along with two other commanding officers of the ship
The arrival of the Argentine Navy’s training ship to Guyana’s shores is the first step to fostering better relationship with the Spanish-speaking country and Guyana. While on a tour of the Libertad on July 16, charge d’ affaires of the Embassy of Argentina, Luis Martino told the media that the ship’s arrival signals appreciation for Guyana, and Argentina plans to launch better relationship henceforth.
The Republic of Argentina, he said, is currently looking for a location in Georgetown to set up an embassy, which will become operable in a short while.
He pointed out that the relationship between the countries will be beneficial to both, especially since Guyana holds the chairmanship of the Union of South American Nations.
The Libertad is docked 20km off the shores of Guyana.
The ship is on a one-year training and instruction voyage, carrying on board the cadets of the last year of the Argentine Naval Academy, before graduation.
The personnel of the ship, currently on its 62nd Instruction Voyage under the command of Navy Captain Guillermo Tyburec, is composed of 27 officers; 184 non-commissioned officers; 90 midshipmen, of which 25 are women; and instructors of the Naval Academy.
Accompanying the crew are nine cadets of the Uruguayan Naval Academy and 14 other cadets from Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Panama.
The 2011 voyage started in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the ship visited the ports of Mar del Plata (Argentina), Rio de Janeiro and Recife (Brazil), and Paramaribo (Suriname). After its stop in Georgetown, it will continue towards the ports of La Guaira (Venezuela), Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), Guayaquil (Ecuador), El Callao (Peru), Valparaiso and Punta Arenas (Chile), Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn and Bahia Blanca (Argentina), and finally Montevideo (Uruguay), last stop before returning to Buenos Aires, scheduled for October 22.
The fundamental mission of the frigate “Libertad” is to train the future officers of the Argentine Navy by instilling the virtues of men and women of goodwill and transmitting the knowledge of navigation through the seas of the world, carrying a message of peace and friendship to all the nations it visits, a message which is deeply rooted in each member of the crew, the ship’s Captain Guillermo Tyburec said.
