Government sees no problem selling Chilean ships to Ecuador

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SANTIAGO.- Government Spokesperson, Francisco Vidal, said today that he sees no problem in transferring two Leander class ships, recently put out of use by the Chilean navy, to Ecuado'’s marina for a price of approximately $24 million U.S. dollars.

Vidal commented on media speculation that the government might donate the ships, stating that neither of the navies seems to have any problem with the vessels being sold "for what they are worth".

Ecuador is looking to replace the only two liners it has belonging to the same class as the Chilean ones, but that were built ten years earlier.

These ships are practically inoperative, causing Ecuadorian marines to look to Chile for eventual replacements. If the deal goes through, the Chilean ships could be handed over sometime during mid-2008.

When reporters asked Vidal about the possibility of the sale, mentioning that the government is in the middle of the controversy over the Peruvian boundary lawsuit against Chile at The Hague, Vidal reiterated the national position that "there is no controversy" with respect to the neighboring country.