Malvinas veterans go to court to stop oil drilling project ‘Sea Lion’ near islands

A coalition of veterans from the Malvinas War and attorneys specializing in environmental law have taken the Argentine judiciary to court in an attempt to halt a planned oil drilling project called 'Sea Lion' near the Malvinas Islands in the South Atlantic. The group argues that Israeli oil company Navitas Petroleum and British firm Rockhopper Exploration are attempting to illegally exploit Argentine natural resources without proper authorization from Argentine authorities.

Argentina claims sovereignty over the islands as part of its ongoing dispute with the United Kingdom.

The legal action was filed on Tuesday before the Tierra del Fuego provincial judiciary by the La Plata Malvinas War Veterans Center (CECIM) and the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers. Federal Judge Mariel Borruto from Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego, has been asked to determine whether she has jurisdiction over the case, which involves foreign companies, environmental issues, and the sovereignty dispute.

The lawsuit demands that the companies stop all work related to the project, including planned drilling and any other activity on the seabed. The lawyers also request that the companies disclose the source of their funding. The potential impact of continued drilling is significant, with the legal team warning of irreversible and permanent environmental damage to the surrounding areas, including the Malvinas, the Argentine Sea, and Antarctic regions.

The project would involve drilling up to 220 kilometers north of the capital of the islands, Puerto Argentino, and could result in the extraction of over 300 million barrels of oil over a 30-year period.

The Malvinas War veterans and environmental lawyers argue that the project violates a 1976 United Nations resolution that prohibited both Argentina and the UK from making any changes to the territory while the sovereignty dispute remains unresolved. They describe the actions as colonial and demand that the companies cease all operations related to the project, as well as refrain from signing new contracts or making new monetary transfers associated with the project.