Argentina attacks Falklands box trade with bureaucratic blockade

BRITAIN`s Falkland Islands are under increasing attack by Argentina to curtail container movement and suffocate the local economy, putting shipping companies under pressure to boycott the colony, reports United Press International.

Under a recent Argentine presidential decree, vessels bound for the Falklands first must seek permission before going. Argentina has revived its sovereignty claim when British-backed oil firms resumed drilling for oil in 2009.


Last year, Argentina blacklisted shippers trading with the Falklands. This, nearly 30 years after the brief Falklands War in which Argentina seized the islands and British forces seized them back in 1982.


Clients of the South American Atlantic Service (SAAS) were told a container service between Falklands and South America was at risk. SAAS director Hamish Wylie said the company`s shipping partners, who also operate in Argentina, have come under pressure to terminate arrangements.


Mr Wylie said the pressure was exerted through the introduction of exorbitant fees and other restrictive measures "to ensure the Falkland Islands fishing industry cannot develop further."


He also said the container shipping service to South America would end in June because of the prohibitive costs.


Stuart Wallace of Fortuna, one of the companies that planned increasing the volume of trade from the Falklands, said the planned suspension of service was a "very serious development for the whole of the Falklands economy."


Results of exploratory undersea drilling have been mixed, but Argentina now claims support of Latin American neighbours who see Britain as a colonial power holding on to territory seized in the days of empire. Argentina campaigned for and won diplomatic support for its position at the Union of South American States.