Port workers in Ushuaia have issued a public warning that the upcoming 2026-27 Antarctic cruise season cannot be guaranteed amid an ongoing federal government takeover of the port.
The workers of the Provincial Port Directorate issued an open letter stating that operational reliability at the port is now at risk following the January intervention by Argentina’s National Ports and Navigation Agency.
More than 140 workers have been locked out of the port since January 22, according to the letter.
“Under the current circumstances, guarantees for the 2026-27 season can no longer be assured,” the workers stated in the letter.
The workers warned that if the situation continues, “the operational conditions that historically characterized our port will be seriously compromised, placing its normal functioning at real risk.”
The intervention was ordered by ANPYN director Iñaki Arreseygor following allegations of financial irregularities and infrastructure failures at the port.
According to ANPYN, 33 percent of the port’s budget had been used to subsidize provincial government accounts, in breach of regulations requiring port revenues to be reinvested exclusively in port infrastructure and operations, the Buenos Aires Times also reported.
The agency said just 1.3 percent of the budget was allocated to work and services aimed at improving operational quality.
The workers said in their letter that port revenues are being diverted to a national bank account “regarding which there is no transparency as to who controls it or what entity audits it.”
The federal intervention has also created complications for health authorities investigating the hantavirus outbreak aboard the Hondius, which departed Ushuaia on April 1.
Provincial health officials have been denied access to the port to conduct contact tracing and obtain passenger manifests, according to Diario del Fin del Mundo, a local newspaper.
The Provincial Port Directorate was forced to request passenger lists from the national immigration office because ANPYN would not provide cooperation, the newspaper reported.
Argentina’s Coast Guard certified on January 14 that the Port of Ushuaia met all international safety standards through 2029, days before the federal intervention began, according to the certification document.
The port is considered a strategic asset due to its proximity to Antarctica and its status as one of Argentina’s main cruise ports.
During the 2025-26 season, which concluded in April, the port received 495 vessel calls and more than 135,000 passengers, according to ANPYN.
The workers stated in their letter that they fulfilled their commitment to not disrupt the cruise season, which had already been planned and committed to by the port directorate for 2026.
However, they warned that continued exclusion from the port threatens the upcoming season.
“If there is no peace for workers and their families, there will be no peace for the intervention either,” the workers stated. “And the Port of Ushuaia, as we have known it, will cease to be a guarantee of operational reliability.”
Tierra del Fuego Governor Gustavo Melella has opposed the intervention, describing it as unfounded and suggesting possible geopolitical motives linked to US interests in Antarctica.
