ARA Ara may refer to: Biology * ''Ara'' (bird), a genus of parrots * Ara (fish) (''Niphon spinosus''), a species of fish * L-arabinose operon, also known as ara Places * Ara (mountain), a mountain in Armenia * Ara, Armenia, a village in Armenia ...

''Zurubí'' (P-55) is a patrol boat of the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

, built in the Río Santiago Shipyard in 1938 and based in

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

. The vessel is named after the

Surubí ''Pseudoplatystoma'' is a genus of several South American catfish species of family (biology), family Pimelodidae. The species are known by a number of different common names. They typically inhabit major rivers where they prefer the Channel (ge ...

, a

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

that inhabits Argentina’s

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

, and is the first Argentine naval ship with this name.

Design

''Zurubí'' is a

coastal A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

and

fluvial A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

Río Santiago Shipyard The Rio Santiago Shipyard is a shipyard located in the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province at the shores of the Santiago River. Currently owned by the Government of Buenos Aires Province, it has been one of the major active and important ship ...

, where it was built. It has a wooden

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

and superstructure, and a tripod mast. It is powered by two 8-cylinder “Deutz” V-

diesel engines The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the die ...

driving two

propellers A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

; which replaced the original “GM” ones. It is equipped with VHF radio, navigation radar, echo-sounding device, and compass.

History

''Zurubí'' was ordered in 1938 by the Argentine General Prefecture (PGA), predecessor of the

Argentine Naval Prefecture The Argentine Naval Prefecture ( or PNA) is a service of Argentina's Security Ministry charged with protecting the country's rivers and maritime territory. It therefore fulfills the functions of other countries' coast guards, and furthermore acts ...

(PNA), as a

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

, and was built in the

, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, at a cost of 111,982 Argentine pesos; a sister ship, the current PNA ''Dorado'' (GC-101) was also ordered. Commissioned by the PGA in 1939, she was assigned to the pilot service in the port of

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...

. ''Zurubí'' was transferred in early 1944 to the

as a patrol boat with pennant number P-36, and modified in the Río Santiago Shipyard. It was assigned to the

naval base to patrol the local waters, arriving in that city in June 1944. It performed various duties until 1985, when was decommissioned.

Back into service

The historic importance of ''Zurubí'' to the local population motivated the

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

government to request the Argentine Navy to preserve the vessel. As a result, ''Zurubí'' was refurbished and re-commissioned in 1993. As of early 2016, ''Zurubí'' is in active service based still in Ushuaia. ''Zurubí'' is also notable as the first Argentine Navy ship with a female commander: in 2009 Guardiamarina (

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

) Erica Vanessa Bibbó was appointed skipper of the historic vessel.

References

Notes

Bibliography

Other sources

* * *

External links

Images of details of sister ship PNA GC-101 "Dorado" - ATNA website
(''accessed 2016-02-20'')

(''accessed 2016-02-20'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Zurubi Patrol vessels of the Argentine Navy Ships built in Argentina 1938 ships