ARA Sarandí (D-13)


ARA Sarandí is the fourth and last ship of the MEKO 360H2 series of destroyers built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is also the fourth ship in the Argentine Navy to bear that name. Sarandíis the name of a victory of the Argentine army during the Cisplatine War.
The Argentine Navy struggles to meet maintenance and training requirements because of financial problems and import restrictions. The Almirante Brown class are reported to be short of spares and suffering engine problems, plus all their ordnance is past its expiry date.

Origin

Sarandí and her sister ships were authorized under the Naval Construction National Plan of 1974, an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old World War II-vintage warships which were nearing the end of their operational lives. A contract was signed with the Blohm + Voss Shipyards in Hamburg, West Germany for the construction of four MEKO 360H2 destroyers.

Construction

Sarandís keel was laid down on 9 March 1982 and was launched on 31 August of that same year. The ship was delivered to the Argentine Navy on 23 April 1984 for her sea trials, following which the ship departed for Argentina, arriving at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base on 21 June of that same year.

Service history

In 2003 Sarandi joined the Carrier Strike Group and Destroyer Squadron 18 as a part of Exercise Solid Step during their tour in the Mediterranean. This marked the first time that a ship of the Argentine Navy inter-operated with a United States Navy battlegroup.
Sarandí was involved in an unfortunate incident on 29 November 2004, during the annual FRATERNO naval exercise with ships of the Brazilian Navy. While conducting gunnery practice shots against target drones, a technical failure of her automatic weapons system made her fire on the Brazilian frigate Rademaker, causing injuries to four Brazilian crewmen and an Argentine naval observer, as well as moderate damage to the Brazilian ship.
She is currently homeported at Puerto Belgrano as the flagship of the Navy's 2nd Destroyer Division, along with her three sister ships.