ARA ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...

''Zurubí'' (P-55) is a patrol boat of 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 ...

, built in the Río Santiago Shipyard in 1938 and based in

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's southern ...

. The vessel is named after the

Surubí ''Pseudoplatystoma'' is a genus of several South American catfish species of family Pimelodidae. The species are known by a number of different common names. They typically inhabit major rivers where they prefer the main channels and tend to sta ...

, a

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

that inhabits Argentina’s

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

, and is the first Argentine naval ship with this name.

Design

''Zurubí'' is a

coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

and

fluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

Río Santiago Shipyard The Rio Santiago Shipyard is a shipyard located in the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province at the shores of the Santiago River. Currently owned by the Government of Buenos Aires Province, it has been one of the major active and important shi ...

, where it was built. It has a wooden hull and superstructure, and a tripod mast. It is powered by two 8-cylinder “Deutz” V-

diesel engines 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-calle ...

driving two

propellers A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

; which replaced the original “GM” ones. It is equipped with VHF radio, navigation radar, echo-sounding device, and compass.

History

''Zurubí'' was ordered in 1938 by the Argentine General Prefecture (PGA), predecessor of the

Argentine Naval Prefecture The Argentine Naval Prefecture ( es, Prefectura Naval Argentina or PNA) is a service of Argentina's Security Ministry charged with protecting the country's rivers and maritime territory. It therefore fulfills the functions of other countries' coa ...

(PNA), as a

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

, and was built in the

, in

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 ...

, at a cost of 111,982 Argentine pesos; a sister ship, the current PNA ''Dorado'' (GC-101) was also ordered. Commissioned by the PGA in 1939, she was assigned to the pilot service in the port of

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...

. ''Zurubí'' was transferred in early 1944 to the

as a patrol boat with pennant number P-36, and modified in the Río Santiago Shipyard. It was assigned to the

naval base to patrol the local waters, arriving in that city in June 1944. It performed various duties until 1985, when was decommissioned.

Back into service

The historic importance of ''Zurubí'' to the local population motivated the

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 ...

government to request the Argentine Navy to preserve the vessel. As a result, ''Zurubí'' was refurbished and re-commissioned in 1993. As of early 2016, ''Zurubí'' is in active service based still in Ushuaia. ''Zurubí'' is also notable as the first Argentine Navy ship with a female commander: in 2009 Guardiamarina (

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

) Erica Vanessa Bibbó was appointed skipper of the historic vessel.

References

Notes

Bibliography

Other sources

* * *

External links

Images of details of sister ship PNA GC-101 "Dorado" - ATNA website
(''accessed 2016-02-20'')

(''accessed 2016-02-20'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Zurubi Patrol vessels of the Argentine Navy Ships built in Argentina 1938 ships