A United Nations court has ordered the immediate release of an Argentine navy sailing ship seized in Ghana.
The ARA Libertad training ship was impounded on October 2 in the port of Tema at the behest of private creditors as collateral for unpaid bonds since Argentina’s economic crisis a decade ago.
Based in Hamburg, Germany, U.N.’s International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ordered Ghana on Saturday to release the ship and its crew immediately without conditions. It also ordered that the ship should be resupplied as needed.
The ruling said warships enjoyed immunity under international laws and seizing the ship was “a source of conflict that may endanger friendly relations among states.”
Whether the ruling is final and whether it can be appealed remain to be seen.
