Uruguay
Uruguay says it received no project for a submarine cable between Malvinas and Montevideo
The Uruguayan government denied that there is any pending initiative to link the Malvinas Islands with Montevideo through an undersea cable. According to La Diaria, the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Industry also said no requests have been filed.
The government of Uruguay rejected that there is a formal project to install a submarine cable between the Malvinas Islands and Montevideo. According to La Diaria, official sources said the country did not receive any proposal of that kind and categorically denied the version that was circulated.
The information emerged after eldiarioAR, based on records from the National Ports Administration, pointed to stopovers in Montevideo by the research vessel Fugro Supporter, from the Dutch firm Fugro, before its trips to Malvinas. According to that outlet, the vessel left the islands on May 10 and arrived in the Uruguayan capital on August 15 without intermediate ports. It also reported other stopovers in Montevideo between April and September of 2025 and 2026.
In response, a source in the Uruguayan government told La Diaria that those stops are routine to refuel, stock up on food or carry out cleaning tasks, and stressed that it is not unusual for ships bound for Malvinas to stop in Montevideo or in ports in Brazil.
Meanwhile, the company Fugro said in a statement cited by eldiarioAR that the vessel’s activity was not linked to hydrocarbon work. According to that version, the work was limited to analyzing the seabed for a telecommunications project unrelated to oil exploration.
The site OpenFalklands had reported in June that the vessel had operated in May near the Mare Harbour military base with the aim of advancing the installation of a submarine cable to Uruguay. That same portal estimated, based on consultations with people in the industry, that a project of that kind would be about 2,000 kilometers long, with a cost close to 115 million dollars and annual operating expenses of 3.5 million.
However, the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry told La Diaria that, based on the available information, that project does not exist. In the same vein, a senior official at the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining said the Interinstitutional Advisory Commission for the laying, operation and maintenance of submarine telecommunications cables did not receive any request linked to Malvinas and that there are also no ongoing procedures for a cable of this type.
According to that source, what exists for now is a preliminary stage of scientific and environmental studies to assess possible impacts on aquatic species, the river and whale breeding areas.
Asked about the issue, Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on Tuesday that his country maintains dialogue with the states that support the Argentine claim over Malvinas, according to La Diaria.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
