The Tierra del Fuego government's communication strategy regarding the operations of the British-flagged oil tanker VS PROMISE has taken a new and perplexing turn. After presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier , citing information from the Foreign Ministry itself, confirmed that the 228-meter-long tanker operated at the Río Cullen monobuoy over provincial resources, the government of Gustavo Melella issued an official statement attempting to distance the province from the vessel's operations.

The official justification rests on a flimsy argument: it claims that the energy sector only monitors liquids from land and that it "does not have access to information regarding the origin of the vessel, its flag, registration and maritime documentation," transferring all control power to the federal navigation agencies.

However, in its attempt to end the controversy, the government itself ended up formally acknowledging its direct and unavoidable intervention throughout the entire crude oil circuit, revealing administrative and political contradictions that worsen the situation.

Intervention before, during and after pumping

No one could expect or demand that inspectors from the Secretariat of Hydrocarbons perform the functions of the Argentine Naval Prefecture, nor review ships' logbooks. The discussion is not about maritime control, but about the traceability of this strategic resource and the transparency of the provincial government .

The government's own statement explicitly acknowledges that "the Province oversees the crude oil loading operation" and meticulously describes a protocol that covers all phases of the shipment:

1.    Before the shipment: The statement specifies that “companies present to the Secretariat a permit from the Nation that allows them to export, a sworn statement specifying the area and the producing company, the volume and quality of crude to be exported, the buying company and the destination of the merchandise from which the provisional certificate of origin is issued.”

2.    During loading: It is detailed that “provincial inspectors verify the volumes exported from land, which are effectively transferred to the ships” , actively participating in the measurement of the storage tanks.

3.    After the operation: The official press release admits that “the documentation corresponding to the crude oil shipment is presented by the companies to the competent national bodies and subsequently to the Secretariat of Hydrocarbons, in order to complete the final certification of the origin of the volume of crude oil dispatched.”

The contradiction is blatant: the Province intervenes before, during, and after the operation. It knows which company is producing, how much is being extracted, the quality of the crude, who is buying it, and its reported destination; it has inspectors on-site monitoring the transfer and issues the official documents without which Customs will not authorize the shipment . Given such a regulatory deployment, it is implausible to claim that the provincial government was unaware that the steel behemoth moored a mere three miles off the coast was the VS PROMISE , registered in the Isle of Man .

THE CIRCUIT THAT THE PROVINCE MONITORED

 1. PREVIOUS SWORN STATEMENT : Operator reports volume, buyer and route.

 2. PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATE : The Secretariat of Hydrocarbons authorizes the start.

 3. ON-GROUND INSPECTION : Provincial inspectors audit the pumping.  

 4. FINAL CERTIFICATE : The province seals the legal exit of the cargo.  

 Is it believable that throughout this entire process nobody knew the name of the cargo ship?

Late admission and unanswered questions

The official statement itself further complicates the position of the Melella administration, announcing that; “based on the recently known facts, the Ministry of Energy is working on specific measures aimed at strengthening provincial mechanisms for the protection of hydrocarbon resources and establishing clear criteria regarding operations, services and infrastructure linked to hydrocarbon activity and to ships operating under the flag of the United Kingdom or its dependent territories” .

The wording contains a clear admission: if the government itself now admits it has the power and authority to set conditions for British ships at its energy terminals, why weren't these measures applied before the VS PROMISE docked in Cullen? What exactly was "recently discovered" that only triggered alarms when the ship reached the Ushuaia pier?

The double standard is obvious:

The questions that the Melella administration must answer

To resolve the gray areas of an official statement that raised more questions than it answered, the Ministry of Hydrocarbons must respond with formal documentation:

The official attempt to reduce the debate to a matter of the Coast Guard's nautical jurisdiction avoids the underlying political responsibility. Navigational safety is one thing, but the administration and allocation of Tierra del Fuego's natural resources is quite another. Sovereignty cannot be compartmentalized: one cannot protest in the capital of Tierra del Fuego about the presence of a British-flagged vessel while, in the north of the province itself, the cargo in its holds is being silently certified.