ARA Libertad ( Q - 2 ) ARA " Libertad " ( Q - 2 ) is a steel hulled , full rigged , class " A " sailing ship which 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 cadet s as well as a traveling goodwill ambassador , having covered more than across all seas , visited about 500 ports in more than 60 countries , and trained more than 11 , 000 navy graduates . Specifications . The ninth Argentine Navy vessel to bear the name " Libertad " , she has a total length ( including bowsprit ) of 103 . 75 m ; a beam of 14 . 31 m ; a draft of 6 . 60 m ; and a displacement of 3 , 765 metric tonne s : these figures place ARA " Libertad " as the world ' s sixth longest tall ship and the third heaviest in displacement . Her complement is 357 , including 24 officers , 187 crewmen and 150 naval cadets , among them an ever increasing number of invited officers from friendly nations ' Armed Forces , personnel from the Argentine Army , Air Force and Coast Guard , students , journalists and distinguished people from different areas and disciplines , both local and foreign . The ship ' s follows the archetypal windjammer design , with a clipper bow and a wood - carved figurehead representing Liberty in a long flowing robe and a cruiser stern bearing the Argentine Coat of Arms in cast bronze . She is an all square rigged vessel , with bowsprit and three steel masts – Fore , Main ( height of 56 , 2m ) , and Mizzen with boom – with double topsails and five yardarm s each , which can rotate up to 45 degrees on each side . Five jib s are fixed to the bowsprit . All masts have five square sails , with the foremast and mainmast having three staysail s , and the mizzen , a spanker , summing up 27 dacron sails with a total sail area of 2 , 652 square meters . Masts have a circular cross section , formed by welded steel sheets between 9 . 5mm and 12mm thick . The vessel carries four fully functional 47 mm QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss cannons , 1891 model , which were transferred from the previous school ship ARA " Presidente Sarmiento " . Although only used as a protocolar salute battery , these cannons make " Libertad " the second most heavily armed tall ship in the world . History . Design , construction and commissioning . Continuously since 1873 the Argentine Navy had a number of commissioned school ships in active service for training future officers in seamanship skills . In 1938 , after retirement of ARA " Presidente Sarmiento " as seagoing academy vessel , her role was temporarily undertook by the light cruiser ARA " La Argentina " . The project for a definitive replacement ship fully conceived and built by Argentines started in 1946 . On 11 December 1953 , during Juan Domingo Perón ' s second term , the vessel ' s keel was laid down at the Rio Santiago Shipyard , A . F . N . E . ( " State Shipbuilding and Naval Factories " , itself a peronist creation ) . Between 1954 and 1955 the shipyard engineers included several modifications to the vessel ' s original design and configuration . During the " de facto " government of the self called " Liberating Revolution " the name " Libertad " was imposed by decree number 7922 ( April 27 , 1956 ) . On 30 May 1956 she was launched to sea , but her completion and commissioning suffered the vicissitudes of that Argentine period ' s unease political situation . The sea trials began in March 1961 and were carried to term under the command of Captain Atilio Porretti , who ordered changes to the vessel ' s rigging and figurehead . During this baptism voyage the ship successfully rode out a violent South Atlantic Ocean tempest . In March 1962 she joined the Navy ' s Instruction Division , formally starting out as the country ' s school ship . One year later , on 28 May 1963 , the finished frigate was delivered to the Argentine Navy and , with the ceremonial hoisting of the Argentine Ensign , formally commissioned to replace ARA " La Argentina " as the Navy ' s school ship . On June 19 , and without her figurehead attached ( still being carved in wood by Galician - Argentine sculptor Carlos García González ) , she sailed from Buenos Aires on her first training voyage in command of Captain Horacio Ferrari , along with officers Orlando Perez Cobo , Heinz Otto Grunewald , and Lieutenant Commander Mario A . Manfredi as public relations officer . Trophies and notable voyages . In 1964 the frigate competed for the first time in a major offshore race for tall ships between the ports of Lisbon and Hamilton , Bermuda . In 1965 she completed her first round - the - world trip . In 1966 , during her fourth instruction voyage , ARA " Libertad " won the Great Medal Prize for establishing the tall ships ' world record for crossing the North Atlantic Ocean using only sail propulsion . She did so by running between Cape Race ( Canada ) and the imaginary line going from Dublin to Liverpool – – in 8 days and 12 hours , a record which has not been beaten yet . During the same trip , she also set the 124 hour run record for a sail school ship at 1 , 335 nautical miles , for which she was awarded the Boston Beanpot Trophy . The captain was Commander Ricardo Guillermo Franke , and the Boston Teapot was presented by Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh in name of Queen Elizabeth II . " Libertad " has won the Boston Teapot Trophy nine times in total : in 1966 , 1976 , 1981 , 1985 , 1987 , 1992 , 1998 , 2000 , and 2007 . In 1970 she was part of the " Parade of Large Sailboats " in Sydney celebrating the bicentenary of the first European settlement in Australia . The ship took part in the celebrations of the United States Bicentennial on July 4 , 1976 by sailing in parade , with many other tall ships from all over the world , on the Hudson River , in front of New York City , in what was called Operation Sail . She also participated in 1964 , 1986 , 1992 and 2012 . During 1976 ' s Operation Sail the Spanish ship Juan Sebastián Elcano collided with " Libertad " and with the full - rigged , three masted Norwegian ship Christian Radich just off the coast of Bermuda . The collision snapped " Elcano " ' s foremast just above the forecourse yardarm , forcing her to abandon the race and return to New York under engine power . " Libertad " suffered only light damage ( two torn sails , smashed lifeboats and port rail ) and , like Christian Radich , continued in the competition without problems . In 1985 raced in " Sail Amsterdam " in the Netherlands and in the celebrations for the Statue of Liberty centenary in New York . One year later " Libertad " sailed in Bremerhaven in Germany . In 1989 , among many events , she was part of " Les Voiles de la Liberte " for the bicentennial of the French Revolution in the port of Rouen , France . In 1992 was part of the great Cadiz regatta in commemoration of the 500 anniversary of Columbus ' 1942 voyage . In 1997 she sailed in the international race " Sail Osaka 97 " in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the port of Osaka , Japan . In 1998 " Libertad " won Americas ' Sail tall ship race between Savannah , Georgia and Glen Cove , New York , United States of America . In 1999 took part in the gathering of tall ships " The Navy of the Century " in France . By presidential decree number 727 ( May 30 , 2001 ) the frigate was designated as " Embassy of the Republic as a matter of honorary distinction and with purely protocolar effect " . On 2 October 2003 she caught fire while anchored off the Spanish port of El Ferrol , during that year ' s training trip . The incident severely damaged the ship ' s hull and bedrooms of aspiring midshipmen , with five sailors having to be hospitalized for smoke inhalation . The fire was controlled after three hours of work by three fire fighting squads . Following this incident , between 2004 and 2006 the instructional trips were made aboard the multipurpose ship ARA " Hercules " . ARA " Libertad " participated in Velas Sudamerica 2010 , an historical Latin America n tour by eleven tall ships to celebrate the bicentennial of the first national governments of Argentina and Chile . Mid - life update . In 2004 she underwent a general mid - life update with special effort put in 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 : The overhaul , performed at Rio 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 , corporal s and sergeant s , 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 rope s , shrouds , backstay s and steel cable s . During the three years " Libertad " was under overhaul , cadets sailed on the Navy ' s corvette s ARA " Rosales " , ARA " Spiro " , ARA " Parker " and on the Chilean Navy school ship Esmeralda ( BE - 43 ) Ghana incident . In early October 2012 the vessel was impounded in the port of Tema , Ghana , by a court ruling in favour of NML Capital , a subsidiary of Cayman Islands hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation , which claimed that it was owed US $ 370m ( £233m ) as a consequence of Argentina ' s debt defaults of 2002 , and was seeking payment of $ 20m for release of the vessel . NML was not originally a creditor , but bought the debt for " pennies on the dollar " according to " Forbes " . Argentina ' s foreign ministry condemned the move , claiming it as " a stunt " pulled by " vulture funds , who are not subject to the laws of any jurisdiction " . On 25 October 2012 most of the ship ' s crew returned to Argentina , leaving the captain and 43 crew members with the ship in Ghana . On 15 December 2012 the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled unanimously that the ship had immunity as a military vessel , and ordered that " Ghana should forthwith and unconditionally release the frigate ARA " Libertad " " , and report to the Tribunal on compliance by 22 December . " Libertad " was released from Tema on 19 December . She arrived on 9 January 2013 to the port of Mar del Plata , where the ship got an enthusiastic homecoming . Following the International Tribunal ruling , the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority sued NML Capital for damages of least US $ 7 . 6 million related to the Libertad ' s impoundment . The Supreme Court of Ghana ruled in June 2013 that the 77 - day impoundment was " unjustified , and could have endangered the security of Ghana by triggering a diplomatic conflict . "