While Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno demanded that the trans-Andean shipping company comply with national regulations and request prior authorization to cross Argentine jurisdictional waters, the island business corporation, the Falkland Islands Development Corporation (FIDC), officially set December 17, 2026 as the departure date of the merchant vessel Danstar. Chile's response was not long in coming. Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna said that Chile "believes in the right to free navigation" or "to free passage, innocent passage, as it is called in maritime law" under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). "We trust that this right will be respected," he emphasized. In this way, Pérez Mackenna confirmed that his government will not request authorization for the Danstar vessel, operated by the Chilean shipping company Easter Island Logistics, from Punta Arenas to Port Stanley (Puerto Argentino), invoking the right of innocent passage recognized by UNCLOS. "In this context, countries do not ask for permission," he declared. The Argentine mission that presented the claim before the Sea Tribunal over the exploitation of resources in the Malvinas In this way, while Argentina and the United Kingdom await the ruling of the Sea Tribunal, following the hearings held this week on its competence to stop or not stop the oil project at Sea Lion, another front of conflict with a neighboring country is consolidating over the possibility that Chilean supply to the islands may go beyond food and basic necessities and include heavy machinery, tools, and vehicles that could be used as part of the logistics necessary for offshore oil exploitation in Argentine waters. As a kind of support from the United Kingdom for the islanders' right to exploit their resources, Princess Anne, sister of King Charles III, met this week in Port Stanley with local legislators, who briefed her on the progress of the Sea Lion project. The Chilean shipping company Easter Island emphasized that there should be no conflict over a strictly commercial voyage. "We already have half of the 1,400-ton capacity that the vessel can carry covered," said the shipping company's general manager, Pablo Pacheco, and he stressed that it is only fruits, vegetables, and materials for "houses, gardens, and schools." However, Chilean media reported that they may also carry "machinery and vehicles." "If that is the case, it would not necessarily be to supply the oil companies; it could be just for the islanders' use," commented an official from the shipping company. In fact, since November 4, all the merchandise and supplies that will be part of the vessel's cargo on its first voyage have been stored in the warehouses of the port of Punta Arenas. Trucks from various suppliers in the Magallanes Region are entering the loading dock daily toward the designated warehouses, which are A and B of the regional firm Logisur, which will store the cargo until the vessel's departure. The Chilean-flagged vessel Danstar In that sense, the mayor of Punta Arenas, Claudio Radonich, defended the reactivation of the trade route with the islands after 15 years —the last voyage was in 2011—. Furthermore, he dismissed the existence of a diplomatic conflict with Argentina and emphasized that "the operation takes place within the framework of international treaties and corresponds to an activity between private parties." He rejected that it is a political initiative and criticized the statements coming from Argentina. He emphasized that the Strait of Magellan is not a co-administered territory. "Chile does not co-administer the strait. It is Chilean territory and the international treaties that guarantee the free passage of any ship are upheld," he maintained. Therefore, the shipping company decided, with the endorsement of the Chilean government, to navigate through the Strait of Magellan and not through the Drake Passage, which will lead the Danstar to enter directly into the 12 miles of the Argentine Territorial Sea as they converge in the Atlantic. The controversy over the Danstar's voyage escalated even further after Argentine opposition deputies, led by legislator Agustina Propato (Unión por la Patria), presented a bill, known in Chile as the "anti-Danstar law," which seeks to interrupt its route, inspect the vessel, and transfer it to an Argentine port. Even deputy Nicolás Trotta (Unión por la Patria) presented an initiative demanding that the Foreign Ministry have the issue of "logistical and commercial collaboration with the islands" addressed in Mercosur with the participation of its full and associate members. The Chilean press echoed the remarks of deputy Pablo Juliano (UCR), who criticized the Milei government for the modifications it introduced to the project for the defense of national sovereignty, known as the Malvinas law, following a request from the United States. "A few weeks ago I said it in Congress. Our position is strengthened in the concert of nations, not with the president's circumstantial little friends and the little videos he makes in New York. The defense of the Malvinas cannot depend on how much Trump loosens the belt," said Juliano. His statements were reproduced by Chile's Radio Bío Bío. So far, everything seems to indicate that the vessel will link the continent from Punta Arenas to the archipelago, Port Stanley, on December 17, with its holds loaded with food, but possibly also with logistical material that would be destined to supply the Israeli oil company Navitas Petroleum and the British consortium Rockhopper Exploration, contractors of the Sea Lion project. Finally, the decision that the Sea Tribunal in Hamburg makes on November 28 may also be decisive in a conflict with Chile whose potential escalation has not yet been measured. Kast and Milei RAUL BRAVO - AFP By Daniel Santa Cruz Type of work: News Original