ARA Libertad

Type

Bark

Period

20th Century

Nation

Other

Overview: ARA Libertad (Q-2) is a steel-hulled, three-masted full-rigged tall ship built as the sail training ship (buque escuela) of the Argentine Navy. She is classified as a "Class A" full-rigger and is closest in the standard reference typology to a large sailing bark/ship-rigged vessel; her closest Argentine sisters in role are the earlier ARA Presidente Sarmiento and later Uruguayan/Chilean training tall ships. Specifications: Ordered in 1953 from a 1946 project and built at the Río Santiago Shipyard, Buenos Aires Province, she was launched on 30 May 1956 and commissioned on 28 May 1963. She is 103.75 m long overall (91.7 m hull), with a beam of 14.31 m, draft of 6.60 m, and displaces 3,765 tonnes; she carries 27 dacron sails across three steel masts totalling 2,652 square meters of sail area, plus twin diesel engines for auxiliary power. Service History: In March 1962 she joined the Navy's Instruction Division, formally starting out as the country's school ship, and one year later, on 28 May 1963, the finished frigate was delivered to the Argentine Navy. She has since conducted annual training cruises for naval cadets and serves as a goodwill ambassador, participating in tall ship races and port visits worldwide. In October 2012 she gained international attention when she was detained in the Ghanaian port of Tema due to a claim by vulture funds during Argentina's sovereign debt litigation, sparking a diplomatic standoff before her release. Notable Facts: The ship has a windjammer design, with a clipper bow and a wood-carved figurehead representing Liberty in a long flowing robe, and a cruiser stern bearing the Argentine coat of arms in cast bronze. Her masts and yards can rotate up to 45 degrees on each side, a detail of interest to modelers reproducing her working rig. She remains in active Argentine Navy service as of the present day, continuing annual midshipman training voyages.