On the departure of the ocean patrol vessel ARA “Contraalmirante Cordero” from the Mar del Plata Naval Base, a new surveillance and control operation began in the South Atlantic called “Mare Nostrum XI”. This continuous and sustained campaign, designed to protect the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) against illegal foreign fishing, employs surface assets and aircraft of the Argentine Navy to secure natural resources and national sovereignty.
This deployment, which began last Sunday, May 3, under the operational control of the Joint Maritime Command – an agency under the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces – contemplates a cycle of high operational intensity aimed at the surveillance and effective control of Argentine jurisdictional spaces. It not only seeks a deterrent presence, but also the consolidation of procedures that guarantee the protection of natural resources in the South Atlantic.
The central axis of this eleventh operation, the ARA “Contraalmirante Cordero”, a unit of the Maritime Patrol Division based at the Mar del Plata Naval Base, functions as a control center that carries on board members of the Tactical Divers Group, who make up the Visit, Registration and Capture (VRC) crew, providing fundamental technical expertise for eventual boarding and inspections in adverse weather conditions or risk scenarios.
The aerial phase is executed, in a coordinated manner, by long-range exploration and surveillance means. On the one hand, operating from the Trelew Naval Air Base, the P-3C Orion of the Naval Air Exploration Squadron provides autonomy and critical sensor capacity for early detection. On the other hand, the B200s of the Maritime Surveillance Air and Naval Squadron, based at the Punta Indio Naval Air Base, complement the coverage with close patrols and persistent tracking.
In this way, the ship-aircraft binomial increases the effectiveness of patrols and allows the Argentine State to expand the usual coverage radius, optimizing the monitoring of foreign fishing fleets that are concentrated in the area adjacent to mile 201.
The focus is on the analysis of jigger vessels – specialized in catching squid – and the trawler units that operate on the hake resource. Likewise, control is extended to tankers and reefers, whose logistics are vital for international fleets to maintain their prolonged stay on the high seas.
During each day of the operation, rigorous identification procedures, photographic records and collection of technical data are executed; information that directly feeds the tactical database of the Joint Maritime Command, allowing historical and strategic monitoring of the behavior of the fleets on the outer limit of the EEZ.
With the implementation of “Mare Nostrum XI”, Argentina ratifies its sovereign determination, strengthening the National Defense System through constant strategic alert and active surveillance of its maritime riches.