ARA Isla de los Estados
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Isla de los Estados |
| Namesake: | Isla de los Estados |
| Builder: | Sociedad Metalúrgica Duro Felguera, Gijón, Spain |
| Yard number: | 122 |
| Launched: | 1975, as Trans-Bética |
| In service: | 22 December 1980 |
| Fate: | Sunk, 11 May 1982 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | 3,900 GRT |
| Length: | 81.4 m (267 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 13.4 m (44 ft 0 in) |
| Draught: | 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion: | Diesel engine, single screw |
| Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement: | 27 |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: | ARA Naval Transport Service |
| Operations: | Operation Rosario |
ARA Isla de los Estados was an Argentine naval supply ship sunk during the Falklands War.
Ship history
The 3,900 ton ship was built in 1975 by the Sociedad Metalúrgica Duro Felguera in Gijón, Spain, as Trans-Bética. She was acquired by the Argentine Navy, renamed and commissioned into the Naval Transport Service on 22 December 1980, being used to maintain a regular transport service between the Falkland Islands and the mainland.[1]
On 28 March 1982 she sailed from Puerto Deseado to participate in "Operation Rosario" in the Falkland Islands, arriving on 4 April, three days after the initial landings, to provide transport around the archipelago.[1]
Sinking
Isla de los Estados was sunk by HMS Alacrity during the first hours of 11 May 1982, in a surface action north of the Swan Islands in Falkland Sound. Alacrity engaged Isla de los Estados with 15 rounds of her 4.5-inch gun. The Argentine ship blew up after seven hits ignited her cargo of jet fuel and ammunition.[2] Only two of the 24 men aboard survived; 15 crew members and seven servicemen (from all three armed forces plus the coast guard) were killed or missing.[1] This was the only surface naval action during the 1982 war.