ARA ''Canal Beagle'' (B-3) is a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

in service with the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

since 1978, capable of transporting

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...

, live cattle, and containers. She is the second ship in the Argentine Navy to bear the name of the Beagle Channel in the south of

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

Design

''Canal Beagle'' (B-3) is one of three The other ships in the class are the ARA ''Bahia San Blas'' and ARA ''Cabo de Hornos''. cargo ships ordered by the

in 1975, designed and built by the Argentine Príncipe, Menghi y Penco shipyard, at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The design is optimised for Patagonic coastal service. ''Canal Beagle'' has a steel

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

and the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

at the stern, with a single mast and a single funnel atop, behind the bridge; the cargo area is located in the middle of the ship and three “ Liebherr”

cranes Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname), ...

serve the three holds, one each.One 5 ton crane serves hold 1, and two 20 ton cranes serve holds 2 and 3; these can be used simultaneously to provide a 40 ton lifting capacity into either hold 2 or 3. She has a bulk cargo capacity of or 6,800 tons (e.g.: coal, cereals, live cattle), a refrigerated cargo capacity of , and can carry up to 140

containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

. ''Canal Beagle'' is powered by two 6-cylinder Sulzer 6 ZL 40/48 marine diesel engines of each, driving two

variable-pitch propeller Variable-pitch propeller can refer to: *Variable-pitch propeller (marine) *Variable-pitch propeller (aeronautics) In aeronautics, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller (airscrew) with blades that can be rotated around their long a ...

s; with a maximum speed of .

History

With the ships then operating with “Naval Transport Service” ( ''Servicio de Transportes Navales'') approaching obsolescence, the

was authorized (via decree 3/10/1975) to order the local construction of three cargo ships for the southern coastal service. The ships, with hull optimised for Patagonic coastal service, were designed and built by the Argentine Príncipe, Menghi y Penco shipyard, at Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the late 1970s and are denominated the ''Costa Sur''-class. ''Canal Beagle'', the first ship in her class, was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 10 January 1977 and launched on 19 October 1977. She was commissioned on 29 April 1978 and assigned to the Argentine Navy's Naval Transport Service with pennant number B-3. In addition to coastal and riverine activities in Argentina, ''Canal Beagle'' also operated overseas. In 1989, ''Canal Beagle'' helped remove oil from the shipwreck of the polar transport , in an effort to reduce pollution in the Antarctic waters. In 1992 she transported to the

Gulf of Fonseca The Gulf of Fonseca ( es, Golfo de Fonseca; ), a part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. History Fonseca Bay was discovered for Europeans in 1522 by Gil González de Ávila, ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, the four ''Baradero''-class patrol boats used under

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

mandate

ONUCA ONUCA and ONUSAL were two United Nations peacekeeping missions deployed in Central America during the late 1980s and early 1990s. ONUCA The United Nations Security Council formally created ONUCA ("United Nations Observer Group in Central Ameri ...

. In 2005, ''Canal Beagle'' was part of the naval deployment contributing to the security of the

4th Summit of the Americas The 4th Summit of the Americas was held at Mar del Plata, about southeast of Buenos Aires in Argentina, on November 4–5, 2005. This summit gathered together the leaders of all the countries of the American continent, except Cuba. Major se ...

( ''IV Cumbre de las Américas'') hold in the Argentine city of

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

. Starting in late 2007, she took part in the

Argentine Antarctic Program Argentina was one of the twelve original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty which was signed on December 1, 1959, and came in force on 21 June 1961. Argentina's scientific activities started at the beginning of the twentieth century when an Argent ...

replacing the icebreaker in the resupply of the Argentine bases in Argentine Antarctica. The ship remained active as of 2022, participating in an exercise off the coast of Mar del Plata with other Argentine naval units.

Footnotes

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Argentine Navy official site – Transportes Clase “COSTA SUR”
(accessed 2017-01-18)

(accessed 2017-01-18) * ttp://www.histarmar.com.ar/Armada%20Argentina/FlotadeMar.htm Histarmar website – FLOTA DE MAR 2015(accessed 2017-01-18) {{DEFAULTSORT:Canal Beagle Costa Sur class cargo ships Transports of the Argentine Navy Ships built in Argentina 1977 ships