page_title: ARA Libertad (Q-2)
section_title: Mid-life upgrade
hierarchical_section_title: ARA Libertad (Q-2) / History / Mid-life upgrade
caption_attribution_description: Fragata Libertad en reparaciones en el Astillero Rio Santiago.
context_page_description: ARA Libertad (Q-2) is a steel-hulled, full-rigged, class "A" sailing ship that serves as a school vessel in the Argentine Navy. One of the largest and fastest tall ships in the world, holder of several speed records, she was designed and built in the 1950s by the Río Santiago Shipyard, Ensenada, Argentina. Her maiden voyage was in 1961, and she continues to be a training ship with yearly instruction trips for the graduating naval cadets as well as a traveling goodwill ambassador, having covered more than 800,000 nautical miles across all seas, visited about 500 ports in more than 60 countries, and trained more than 11,000 navy graduates.
context_section_description: In 2004 she underwent a general mid-life update with special effort put into security and comfort, seeking to extend the vessel's lifespan for at least another forty years. The extensive works were finished in April 2007 and included: 
  New integral painting
  Replacement of all Burma teak linings
  Modernization of steering gear
  Renewal of kitchens, laundry, nursing and dental office equipment
  Upgrading of all light appliances
  Replacement of all ship's piping and vents, using new materials and adapting them to the new embedded systems
  Building foundations for the new systems and equipment parts
  The overhaul, performed at Río Santiago Shipyard by more than 350 workers, required 285 tonnes of metal for the hull, decks and internal structures and over 25 tonnes of different shaped steel profiles.
  Bedrooms and bathrooms were refitted to allow the incorporation of female midshipmen, corporals and sergeants, in line with current diversity policies in the Argentine Navy.
  The propulsion plant was upgraded to two MAN B&W turbocharged diesel engines mod. 6L23/30-D, each with six inline cylinders and 960 kW at 900 rpm that improved performance to a maximum speed of 13.73 knots and a cruising speed of 12.5 knots (from previous 13.5 and 8 knots respectively) This modification included replacing the propeller shaft.
  The radar navigation system was replaced by an advanced model that holds greater scope and definition. The vessel update also included changing all power, communications, alarm, signalling and monitoring cabling, an adaptation required for the newly incorporated systems.
  The rigging was fully upgraded, which included bringing down, checking and repairing the spars, and renewing more than 55,000 meters of ropes, shrouds, backstays and steel cables.
  During the three years Libertad was under overhaul, cadets sailed on the Navy's corvettes ARA Rosales, ARA Spiro, ARA Parker and on the Chilean Navy school ship Esmeralda (BE-43)
caption: Libertad being updated at Río Santiago
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