“We are the city at the end of the world”, begins the letter sent to The counter by the Cape Horn Guides Association. This deals with the disconnection of Puerto Navarino with the rest of the country, since they do not have the international crossing between Chile and Argentina enabled.
The town is located 8 km from Ushuaia, Argentina, but it cannot be reached from the neighboring country, but from Punta Arenas, a place that is located 301 km away and costs more than $200,000 per trip. In addition, no commercial planes arrive due to the length of the runway and only flights come from a single company (Aerovías DAP), once a day, with a capacity of 16 people and only two days with 90 people.
Regarding the maritime connection, this is carried out on a single ferry (Transbordadora Austral Broom), which comes only once a week with a limited capacity of passengers and cargo. “For both cases, the transportation capacity is reduced, which makes finding a ticket very difficult for both residents, workers, and tourists,” the letter states.
The crossing between Puerto Williams and Ushuaia is practically only authorized for Argentine vessels to enter Chile, given that Chilean legislation exempts vessels under 50 gross register tons (GRT) from the use of pilotage, while in Argentina the use of pilotage for this entry, whose value is 10 thousand dollars, so making this crossing by small Chilean vessels becomes unfeasible.
Connectivity problems arose from the pandemic since Puerto Navarino was previously enabled. At that time, the borders were closed, including Puerto Williams with Ushuaia, but after that it was hoped that the crossings between Puerto Navarino and Ushuaia could be resumed. However, the Chilean Navy no longer allows the reception and disembarkation of passengers, since it is conditioning for this the concurrence of all the public migration services in Puerto Navarino, that is: PDI, SAG and Customs. However, the latter is prohibited from going to Puerto Navarino to carry out these procedures, and there is not a permanent Customs official in the Cabo de Hornos commune, but rather, an official from Punta Arenas who travels in service commission every 10 days.
In 2019 there were diplomatic relations problems between Argentina and Chile due to bilateral declarations of sovereign projection over Antarctica, which deteriorated diplomatic relations between the two countries, and this is what Jorge Caros, founding partner of the Cape Horn guides association , pointed to El Mostrador as a possible cause of the limited access to the neighboring country.
From the Chilean side they affirm that Argentina does not want to negotiate, and from the Argentine side it is observed that they do need to open the international passage from Puerto Williams to Ushuaia.
This has been a problem in tourism because people who travel to Antarctica go from the plane to the cruise ship directly from Puerto Williams, so they “do not spend the night in the town,” according to Caros, and do not participate in the local economy.
Therefore, development is delayed. “All the development of Patagonia in Chile was developed due to the connection with Argentina, so if we had an international connection, we would have more development,” says Caros.
“There may be sick people who have to travel to Punta Arenas instead of Ushuaia, which includes looking for a place to stay, paying for lodging and travel,” says Caros. Added to this is the lack of work, which causes people to leave the place.
“The rate of mental health problems is high and a lot of it is due to the lack of places of recreation and isolation. Added to this is the digital, educational and relationship divide that are part of this place, ”he points out.
“The laws exist, but they are not enforced”
According to the Association, in June 2022, the Navy informed the Chilean Antarctic Provincial Presidential Delegation (DPP) that “Puerto Navarino was not enabled as a port for the reception of international passengers and cargo. This is because the pandemic interrupted the presidential decree that authorized the reception of passengers.
María Muñoz, Provincial Presidential Delegate for Chilean Antarctica, points out in a letter that “it is necessary that Puerto Navarino be enabled for international crossing, since crossing operations between Argentina and Chile, in the Chilean Antarctic Province, must be carried out between said Puerto and Ushuaia, since the costs that maritime operators imply to navigate between Ushuaia and Puerto Williams would skyrocket”.
In addition, the Exempt Decree No. 506 of the Ministry of Finance of the year 2005, “recognizes Puerto Navarino as a qualified, permanent point of passage for people and all kinds of customs operations. However, it also indicates that said regulations are limited only to customs issues, and additional sectoral regulations are required that definitively qualify Puerto Navarino as an international port of passage,” they state in the letter.
On the other hand, the National Director of State Borders and Boundaries pointed out in a letter sent to the Provincial Presidential Delegate of Chilean Antarctica that “since 2005 Puerto Navarino has been enabled for international tourist traffic, as a port for international use ”.
It adds that the “Puerto Navarino border crossing is not included in the 1996 Agreement with Argentina on the Coordination of Opening and Closing of Border Crossings and its Complementary Agreement of 1997, which does not prevent our country from using it unilaterally as a point of entry/exit of people and merchandise.
However, according to Caros, the laws exist but, in practice, they are not complied with. He points to the State as guilty for “not being present properly, delivering the services that a neighboring place needs.”
Search for solutions
The crossing between Ushuaia and Puerto Williams will open approximately on January 20, as promised. For this, the Chilean side must set up a dock and Puerto Navarino would be reached by land from Puerto Williams.
As an immediate solution they propose “enabling Puerto Navarino for the reception of international passengers through an order to the Navy indicating that the criteria used with Cruceros Australis must be the same for all types of vessels.”
It is also considered incorporating a permanent Customs official in Puerto Williams who can go to Puerto Navarino to receive passengers.
The problem arises from the fact that, in order to finish the road between Lago Fagnano and Yendegaia, it is necessary to connect a section of around 15 km that has not yet been designed, so it could be available in 10 years. The “terminus of land road between Lago Fagnano-Yendegaia, this road despite all the news of progress, its progress is very slow and it is projected to finish in no less than 10 years, for this to allow the opening of private bidding.”
The other possibility that the residents of Isla Navarino believe is possible is to develop terrestrial connectivity between Yendegaia (Chi) and Lapataia (Arg). From Yendegaia to the border with Argentina it is about 4.5 km in a straight line passing through an existing track, on the Argentine side it is only 1 km to the border with Chile from the road.
From there the ferries could leave for Puerto Navarino, which would take approximately 2 to 4 hours.
The other simpler option is to cross the Beagle Channel, but the conflicts that took place in 1978 in the place do not allow it. Later there was a peace treaty in 1984, but in practice it has not happened.
With this, “we will immediately remove ourselves from the category of being at the end of the world and give local people a chance,” says Caros.
We tried to contact the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonia Urrejola, but received no response.
The inhabitants of the town are waiting for the authorities to fulfill their promise to finally achieve the connection with the rest of the country and develop like the rest of the cities.
