The Latest Submarine Incident Off Argentina - What the Royal Navy Wanted the Press to Report

18 de marzo de 2010 Daily NewsARGENTINA - Tense Situation

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The British press says that Great Britain sent a nuclear submarine to the Falkland Islands. Experts warned that significant oil discovery could heighten tension in what already is a political hotspot.

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According to a report in English daily newspaper The Sun, military authorities in Great Britain gave the order last month to send an HMS Sceptre submarine, 82 meters long and weighing 5000 tons. The English daily says that military sources hope the presence of the Sceptre in the waters of the Falklands will be enough to put an end to Argentina's "ambitions" regarding the sovereignty of the islands. The Desire Petroleum firm discovered oil along the northern basin of the Falklands and it is the first company to begin hydrocarbons exploration work in that area. However, this firm is only one of seven British firms looking for oil and gas in the waters of the Falklands with the goal of finding up to 60 billion barrels of crude. The daily also mentioned that last week a group of 100 protestors hurled molotov cocktails at the British embassy in Buenos Aires to protest the oil exploration.

"We do not comment on submarine operations," a British government spokesman told The Sun. However, an anonymous source confirmed the paper that the HMS Sceptre "is a fully-equipped, nuclear-powered submarine."

Naval expert Steve Bush said the submarine will remain an invisible threat while it’s there.

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Experts claim there could be as much as 60 billion barrels of crude oil under Falkland's waters. The U.K.'s Desire Petroleum, currently drilling for oil, is expected to announce next week if it has had success. Argentina still claims the drilling site 300 miles from its coast.

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Submarines are always silent or strange.