Argentine crew in Ghana to return

BUENOS AIRES - The crew of an Argentine naval training ship seized by Ghana almost three weeks ago are to fly home Wednesday aboard a chartered flight, Argentine Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Most of the 281 marines aboard the Libertad warship "will arrive in Buenos Aires next Wednesday at 20:00 local time (2300 GMT) in an Air France flight specially hired to complete their evacuation," the ministry said in a statement.

Some 44 crew members are to stay to maintain and operate the frigate while it remains in the custody of Ghanaian authorities who are acting on a debt claim.

Foreign naval students aboard the ship will also be evacuated, said the ministry.

The Argentine government stressed that "it has been forced to make this (evacuation) decision, because the verdict of Ghanaian justice, in addition to breaking international law, puts at risk the safety of the crew by refusing to allow the docked ship access to needed supplies."

"All of the expenses and damages from the illegal detention of the warship Libertad will be part of the suit Argentina will present to international organizations," said the statement.

The ship was detained on Oct 2 in Ghana's eastern Tema port after a court in Accra, capital of Ghana, acted on a claim of a group of private investors suing Argentina for $370 million bond debts dating from 2001.

The Cayman Islands-based NML Capital Limited suing Argentina over its 2002 bond default, says the ship won't be released until $20 million, out of the total, are paid by the country.

Argentina announced a massive sovereign default during an economic crisis a decade ago, and has ever since faced a series of lawsuits by bondholders seeking recovery of the defaulted bonds' value.

Argentina has refused to negotiate the debt issue with the "vulture funds" and it also has refused to pay the $20 million to a Ghanaian court to secure the ship's release.

Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said his government is expected to take its case to the United Nations and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has agreed to talk with Ghana's government over the seizure of the Argentinean warship.

Timerman said that Ban "emphasized the need to respect international law and especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,"  according to Argentina's state-run Telam news agency.

Earlier, Timerman met with UN Security Council President Gert Rosenthal on the issue. Rosenthal explained that the Security Council cannot take up the issue.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez criticized creditors on Monday for their role in leading to the seizure of one of the country's warships, saying they could take the vessel, but not Argentina's sovereignty.

"As long as I am president, they can take the frigate, but they cannot take the liberty, sovereignty and dignity of this country," said Fernandez on a national radio and television network when she unveiled a program to regulate insurance companies.

Ghana's seizure of the Argentine warship in favor of the creditors has triggered escalating tensions between the two countries.

Last weekend, Fernandez ordered the evacuation of over 300 sailors from the frigate detained in Ghana, which was on a "goodwill mission" with 220 crew members and 110 students aboard.