MEXICO, December 18 - RAPSI. The Argentinean frigate Libertad, detained under a claim by international financial fund NML Capital in Ghana, will return home on January 9, Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said on Monday.

"The government has done everything it could to protect the rights of Argentina and its national sovereignty in full and not kneel down in front of all those who thought they were higher than the constitution, agreements and international laws," the Latin American media cites Kirchner's as saying.

On December 15 the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled the Argentinean frigate Libertad, which was being held in Ghana, should be released.
Argentina appealed to the tribunal in mid-November.

Libertad, which became a pledge in a financial dispute, departed Buenos Aires on June 2 on a routine voyage with about 300 crew members and students aboard. The ship was being used as the venue for the students' final exams, according to the Argentinean media.

On October 2, the frigate was detained in Ghana under a claim by the international financial fund NML Capital Ltd., a primary holder of Argentina's debt obligations. The fund claimed Argentinean payments had stopped or had only been paid in part in 2001-2002 during the country's economic crisis.

NML Capital Ltd is a branch of Elliot Capital Management, which is headed by Paul Singer (who is worth about $1.1 billion, according to Forbes).

The conflict resulted in the dismissal of four high-ranking officials in the Argentinean Defense Ministry, including the navy commander and the head of the country's intelligence service.