Exocets smuggled in a Hospital Ship?
In his latest book, Tied With Wires: The Incredible Argentine Inventions & Weapons of the Falklands War, Phillips incurs again in the mistake of including unsubstantiated assertions, maybe not so sensationalist this time, but with serious implications nonetheless: that Argentine forces smuggled Exocet missiles into the Falklands aboard of a Hospital Ship. The incident in question is mentioned on page 80:
Click on pictures to enlarge
Concretely, Phillips states that on June 9th, the ARA Bahía Paraíso unloaded two Exocet MM38 (the surface launched version, different from the AM39, air launched version), instead of medical supplies for the Hospital.
Such accusation is quite easy to debunk, since by the Geneva Convention, the activities of the Hospital Ships are closely monitored by both parties and the International Committee of The Red Cross. In this interview with Edmond Corthésy, head of the Red Cross delegation in Buenos Aires at the time, he discloses many of the activities and procedures carried on during the conflict:
"On the day hostilities broke out, the ICRC sent a note to the parties reminding them of their obligations during international armed conflicts, under the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.
The delegation in Buenos Aires kept in constant touch with the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the joint chiefs of staff of the Argentine armed forces in order to deal with any humanitarian problems arising in connection with the conflict, such as access to the conflict zone, the notification and identification of hospital ships and the exchange of prisoners of war and wounded. ICRC headquarters maintained close relations with the permanent mission of the United Kingdom in Geneva and the various ministries concerned in London.
From the outset of the conflict, the two countries demonstrated their commitment to comply with international humanitarian law.
For instance, both parties invited the ICRC to visit the six hospital ships that were active during the conflict, enabling us to make sure that each was clearly identifiable, in conformity with the Second Geneva Convention.
The conflict in the South Atlantic was the first time that the Second Geneva Convention, relative to conflict at sea, was implemented. At the direct request of the Argentine authorities, I personally visited the Bahía Paraíso in Buenos Aires before it sailed for the conflict zone.
ICRC delegates first reached the islands aboard a British hospital ship on 10 June. They had intended to set out earlier from Patagonia but that unfortunately proved impossible owing to various problems related to the conflict.
One of the reasons we wanted to go to the islands was to facilitate the setting up of a neutral zone, as defined in the Geneva Conventions. A perimeter was established around the church in Port Stanley where civilians could take refuge if fighting broke out in the capital. This was fortunately not the case and the war soon ended.
ICRC delegates served as neutral intermediaries between Argentina and the United Kingdom during negotiations over the establishment of the zone. The two sides reached an agreement in writing, in conformity with the Conventions, a rare occurrence in the history of international humanitarian law."
Additionally, in this report by Red Cross Delegate Sylvie Junod, refers to the good will and spontaneous cooperation between the United Kingdom and Argentina in regard of the Hospital Ships coordination:
"At the initiative of the United Kingdom, and without a special written agreement, the Parties to the conflict designated a neutral zone on the high seas. This zone, called “Red Cross Box”, with a diameter of approximately 20 nautical miles, was in the high seas, to the north of the archipelago. For this reason, they were able to anchor the hospital ships, without hindering the movements of the military operations, and exchanges of wounded were carried out between the British and the Argentines.
Such a measure, not provided for in the Second Convention, is perfectly in keeping with its spirit and shows that international humanitarian law cannot be said to be exhaustive. When there is a will to respect protection obligations, measures such as the designation of this neutral zone on the high seas can be improvised, depending on the circumstances, and there is some flexibility as regards the application of the law.
Within the "Red Cross Box" and between hospital ships, in general, radio communications were important for efficiency and smooth operation: the regular use of radio communications between ships, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the use, by the United Kingdom, of satellite radio communications, for the first time in the history of medical transport."
It's clear that during the conflict there was a very good predisposition between the contenders to cooperate, maintain a great deal of control and communication between them and with the Red Cross; but what about the activities of ARA Bahía Paraíso?
Fortunately, there's this exhaustive article by Argentine Navy medics, Pascual Pellicari, Juan A. López and Miguel A. D. Parola focused exclusively on the Bahía Paraíso service. The ship was converted and profusely modified to operate as Hospital, starting on April 16th; and on the 27th, she set sail again, participating on the rescue operation for the survivors of the ARA General Belgrano sinking. After that, she completed four different trips to the Falklands, two during the hostilities, and two more after the cease fire. These maps show the course around the islands, the Red Cross Box North of the islands, and very importantly, the date of each waypoint:
Furthermore, there's a brief description of the day by day activities, we will concentrate on the days around June 9th, the date when Phillips asserts that the missiles were delivered, this was the second trip:
June 8th
12:50 p.m. She set sail from Punta Quilla [small port near Puerto Santa Cruz in the Patagonic coast] to Falklands.
2:30 p.m. Helicopter Puma took off towards Santa Cruz airport to look for mail bags.
4:20 p.m. Helicopter returned.
June 10th
01:00 a.m. Arrived at the waiting area with British Hospital Ships, meeting with the SS Uganda and HMS Hecla.
9:30 a.m. The helicopter brought from the Uganda two representatives from the International Red Cross.
9:35 a.m. She set sail for Stanley.
2:50 p.m. She occupied station aft of Forrest tug.
4:30 p.m. It was anchored in an internal harbour.
6:45 p.m. The Forrest and the Yehuin were moored. We began with the landing of provisions (240 tons) and 26,000 liters of fuel.
June 11th
12:00 p.m. 26 wounded embarked on 11 UH helicopter flights and 10 wounded in the Yehuin.
3:30 p.m. She set sail to meet the Uganda.
9:30 p.m. Landed Uganda's helicopter with three wounded.
10:00 p.m. She's headed for Elephant Bay.
From this binnacle, we can get two important pieces of information: on June 9th, the Bahía Paraíso was still halfway to the islands, and the next day received the inspection of two Red Cross delegates before anchoring in Stanley. This paragraph gives more details about their visit:
"Red Cross personnel on boardIn addition, there's two announcements of the Joint General Staff of the Argentine Forces disclosing the activities of ARA Bahía Paraíso:
On June 10, when the ship was in the waiting area for hospital ships, Messrs. Phillippe Eberlin and Martín Fuhrer, both of Swiss nationality and members of the Red Cross International Committee, moved from the hospital ship Uganda to this ship. Mr. Phillippe Eberlin, an expert in signalling, together with Martin Fuhrer, overseer, inspected the ship verifying compliance with the provisions stipulated in the Geneva Convention, without raising objections.
That same day the ship arrived to Stanley, where the two members disembarked to carry out an inspection visit, returning the next day at noon. She then set sail for Elephant Bay, where Mr. Martin Fuhrer landed to inspect the place, without observing any abnormalities. On June 12, they disembarked by helicopter headed for the Hydra (British) hospital ship.
The treatment was correct and cordial, acting at all times with total neutrality and complying with the directives given to him from the Geneva Headquarters. They were especially concerned with disseminating and informing about the humanitarian functions and tasks of the Red Cross. On June 22, in Stanley, Doctor Bernardo Perren (doctor) and Hugo Beschstol (supervisor), both of Swiss nationality, embarked. They remained on board until taking Puerto Belgrano.
During the trip they worried about the Argentine personnel who were being transferred to the mainland."
Announcement #145, June 9th:
"The Bahía Paraíso hospital ship, on a new voyage to Stanley, has been designated coordinator of the encounter with the British hospital ships"
Announcement #146, June 10th:
"At 5:00 p.m., the Bahía Paraíso hospital ship entered Puerto Argentino with representatives of the Red Cross who will confer with General Menéndez and inspect the hospitals"
The previous trip that arrived to Stanley on June 1st
That mission was also inspected, not by the Red Cross, but by around 30 Royal Marines that arrived in Lynx and Wessex helicopters on May 31st, as explained in the book Scram!: The Gripping First-hand Account of the Helicopter War in the Falklands, by Harry Benson, pages 219–220:
"Steve Judd, Ric Fox and Arthur Balls found themselves heading towards a very different hospital ship on the morning of Monday 31 May.
This time it was Bahia Paraiso, one of three hospital ships operated by the Argentines. Since the sinking of the Belgrano, they were the only Argentine ships anywhere near the Falklands. The British were keen to ensure that they were not breaching the neutrality given to them under the Geneva Convention and being used to bring in arms. During the war there were at least two unarmed inspections of Argentine hospital ships using British Lynx and Wasp helicopters, while the Argentines insisted on a reciprocal (though armed) inspection of Uganda.
[...]The brief was to fly at low level down to the far south of East Falkland, across Goose Green and over the flat boggy land known as Lafonia, board the Argentine ship and conduct the inspection.
[...]The ship appeared to be a converted icebreaker, capable of carrying two Puma helicopters on its large flight deck. Judd hovered alongside the ship until a flight-deck director came out to wave him across. As soon as Yankee Tango landed, the Argentine flight-deck crew rushed out to lash the helicopter to the deck with chains.
[...]For over an hour, they sat on one side of the room face to face with their Argentine hosts, waiting for the inspection team to complete their tour. The young Argentine junior officers were dressed in smart naval whites; the junglies were in their well-worn and well-flavoured green combats, armed with loaded 9mm Browning pistols. The welcome they received was civil and the coffee was good. The only interruption was the need to wave to a passing Sea King sent to check they were alright.
[...]As soon as the inspection team returned, the crew climbed back into their Wessex and flashed up. It was exactly as if they were starting up on a British ship: once the rotors were going, the flight-deck crew ran in to remove the lashings; Judd signalled that he wanted to take off; the flight-deck officer waved his arms upwards and the Wessex lifted away.
[...]They had landed on an Argentine ship and it was completely normal. The whole episode had felt surreal. The team leader plugged in to chat to them on the intercom. He had found some large boxes in the ship’s hold that his team hadn’t been able to shift. Otherwise they had found nothing that shouldn’t be there. He didn’t say as much, but it was clear they had been looking for Exocet."
The testimony of Daniel Gionco
In view of this statement on Phillips' book, an Argentine veteran felt in the obligation to give his account of the supposed incident, as member of the Malvinas Naval Station. Casually, this was the unit that was in charge of the LCVP boats that were discussed in The First Casualty. I'll reproduce his testimony published in the Zona Militar Forum:
"Although I have already done it at other times and places, and before different interlocutors; I proceed to give the following TESTIMONY:
1) In June 1982, at the Malvinas Capital airport, I participated in the unloading maneuver of 2 Exocet missile container-launcher units that were transported by an Argentine Hercules aircraft.
This maneuver was delayed by the unexpected difficulty of landing a cannon that was in front of the Exocets in said transport plane.
2) In June 1982, on board the Argentine ship Yehuín, anchored in the interior harbor of the Malvinas Capital, together with the ARA Bahía Paraiso, I participated in the transfer of food (and perhaps some clothing, I am not sure) from the latter ship to Yehuin.
I did not see any transfer of weapons, much less container-launcher units for Exocet missiles.
Daniel Guillermo Gionco
Conscript Class 1962
Malvinas Naval Station"
Conclusion:
Once more, we find that Mr. Phillips is not quite thorough when it comes to verify or corroborate the most controversial postulations in his work. It was simply impossible for the ARA Bahía Paraíso to deliver concealed weapons to the Argentine forces, given that the ship was still in open seas on June 9th, and she was also inspected by Red Cross delegates, that went all the way to Stanley aboard the ship. It's also pleasing to see that both sides did more than simply meet their obligations with the Red Cross, cooperating beyond the provisions and requirements of the Geneva Convention.