Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani traveled from Punta del Este on his two 300 million dollar ships. The trip was unofficial.
after one surprise visit with his two luxury boats in Punta del Estethe Emir of Qatar was in Buenos Aires for less than 24 hours. Tamim bin Hamad Al Thanithe highest authority of the Arab country, crossed the Río de la Plata and anchored the yachts in front of the entrance to the Port of La Plata, around 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
The arrival of the Emir was not officially communicated and everything was kept under complete secrecy. Al Thani arrived with a delegation of 30 people, some of Arab nationality and others English, aboard the Aquarius and Alfa vessels that together are worth 300 million dollars. The two ships are made of steel and sail at 17 knots on the high seas.
The Emir who crowned Lionel Messihe put the tail, gave him the trophy for the best player in the World Cup and the World Cup together with Gianni Infantino, had already generated a stir in Punta del Este. In the Uruguayan resort, he shared lunch at José Ignacio’s “La Huella” hostel with former tennis player Gastón Gaudio, his Argentine friend.
The Aquarius is 92 meters long, 13.5 meters wide and 5 meters deep. She can carry up to 14 passengers in six luxury cabins and 31 crew members. She is powered by two MTU 16-cylinder diesel engines, 1,800 rpm and 2,240 kW of power. Its market value is about $200 million dollars.
The Alfa presents measures 67 meters in length, 10.6 in beam and its draft is 3 meters. She has capacity for 14 passengers and 21 crew members. She also carries MTU engines that allow her to reach a speed of 17 knots. It is valued at $85 million dollars.
The Emir of Qatar usually travels in the Aquarius while the Alfa is intended for officials and their security team. In the Argentine maritime space, the two vessels were assisted by the Dulce Maritime Agency and, according to port sources, they did not require provisions or fuel during their stay in Argentine waters.
Although at first it was said that they had refueled in our country because the value was lower than that of Punta del Este, the theory was denied by sources close to the delegation. “Apparently it was a distraction factor to keep all their movements in strict reserve and security”they said to Clarion.
In fact, this chronicler went to the Port of Buenos Aires where, as confirmed on the spot, they had reserved a place to moor the ships because they were scheduled to arrive last night. Even Foreign Ministry authorities had offered to receive them. But they decided to change the destination to finally anchor in La Plata bay.
Around 2:00 p.m. this Tuesday, the two ships set sail for Montevideo. “In order for the ship to navigate through the channels, the pilots accompany the boats up to this point. All foreign-flagged ships must navigate with pilots. Around 9:00 p.m. they will get off in a boat,” he told Clarion another port source.
Then, in the middle of their tour of Latin America, the mega-yachts will continue their voyage alone to Rio de Janeiro. They are scheduled to arrive in Brazil on Sunday, January 8 at 5:00 p.m.
A private visit surrounded by mystery
as far as he could tell Clarion, it was a private visit that involved personal errands that maintain the secrecy of absolute confidentiality. After having given up mooring in Dock E of the Port of Buenos Aires, they anchored in an exclusive zone of the Argentine Navy in the La Plata bay.
They did not enter the port but stayed anchored in La Plata roadstead. Then, always according to the sources consulted, they disembarked in the port of La Plata with their own boat, a boat that they take on top of the boat, without touching the port.
In two boats, with 24 crew members (by regulation, 12 enter each one), they moved at night through the waters until they moored in the port of La Plata. Port sources confirmed to Clarion that, on land, a special delegation was waiting for them that took them by land to the Qatari Consulate where they had dinner.
National government sources told this outlet that they had no contact with the delegation because it was not an official visit.
“The Emir never wanted to attract attention. He only wanted to speak to the Qatari Consulate. It was all secret”, corroborates a port source. Clarion He tried to contact the Consulate but received no response.
When asked by this medium, the Ambassador of the Argentine Republic in Qatar, Guillermo Nicolás, stated: “I have no information about the activities he carried out because the visit was private.”
MG