ARA ''Bahía Paraíso'' was an Argentine navy auxiliary ship that sunk in 1989, from Palmer Station at Arthur Harbor, Antarctica, resulting in a oil spill.

Construction and design

''Bahía Paraíso'' was ordered by the Argentine Navy on 27 February 1979 as a supply ship for use in Antarctic waters. The ship was launched from the Argentine shipyard '' Astilleros Príncipe y Menghi SA'' on 3 July 1980, entering service on 3 December 1981, with the pennant number Q 6. ''Bahía Paraíso'' was

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . The ship had an icebreaking hull.

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was full load. Two

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s rated at a total of drove two controllable pitch propellers, giving a speed of . The ship's holds had a capacity of dry cargo, with an additional refrigerated storage, together with 1200 tons of cargo fuel. A flight deck and hangar for two helicopters was fitted. The ship had a crew of 124, and could carry 84 civilian passengers, who could be replaced by 252 troops.

Operational history

The ship operated as a naval auxiliary vessel from 1981 to 1986 and served in the Falklands War as a troop transport as well as a hospital ship. It was involved in transporting troops to Leith Harbour prior to the

Invasion of South Georgia The invasion of South Georgia, also known as the Battle of Grytviken or Operation Georgias, took place on 3 April 1982, when Argentine Navy forces seized control of the east coast of South Georgia after overpowering a small group of Royal Marin ...

. After the war it reverted as an Antarctic supply ship for the Navy with occasional tourists on board. It was on a resupply trip with tourists to Antarctica at the time of the sinking off

Anvers Island Anvers Island or Antwerp Island or Antwerpen Island or Isla Amberes is a high, mountainous island long, the largest in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica. It was discovered by John Biscoe in 1832 and named in 1898 by the Belgian Antarctic ...

. Passengers and crew were rescued by the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

Construction and design

Operational history

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading