Fragata ARA Presidente Sarmiento Museum Ship

Why is it significant?

Moored gracefully along the eastern quay of Dique 3 rests the gleaming white hull and soaring timber masts of the Buque Museo Fragata ARA Presidente Sarmiento.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Moored gracefully along the eastern quay of Dique 3 rests the gleaming white hull and soaring timber masts of the Buque Museo Fragata ARA Presidente Sarmiento. Commissioned in 1897 by the Argentine Navy and built at the Laird Brothers shipyards in Birkenhead, England, this eighty-five-meter steel-hulled frigate was designed by naval architect Bevis as the modern training ship for naval academy cadet officers. Over a storied active career lasting four decades until 1939, she completed thirty-seven circumnavigations of the globe, sailing over one million nautical miles and visiting foreign ports across six continents as a floating ambassador of Argentine goodwill.

Look up at the soaring rigging: three towering masts rise over forty meters above the waterline, carrying thirty-five sails with an expansive surface area of over two thousand square meters.

Step aboard across the gangway to explore the polished teak decks, gleaming brass binnacles, and mahogany-paneled officers' mess. In the ship's armory and steering compartment, you can see historic nautical instruments, naval telegraphs, and original Armstrong rapid-fire cannons that defended the vessel during high-seas maneuvers. The frigate's mascot was an Andean sheepdog named Lampazo, who sailed over three global voyages with the cadets. In 1962, the ship was declared a National Historic Monument, and in 1964 she opened as a floating naval museum. Standing at the ship's wooden helm overlooking the waters of Dique 3, you can feel the spirit of generations of young Argentine sailors who climbed these rigging ropes in stormy Atlantic gales to learn the ancient craft of seamanship.

The preserved elegance of this Victorian sailing frigate anchored before cutting-edge glass skyscrapers is one of the most romantic sights in Buenos Aires. Looking up at the intricate network of lines, stays, and spars against the evening sky, you can almost hear the ocean winds that drove this ship around the globe.

Walk fifty meters south to cross the canal over the sculptural white arch of the Puente de la Mujer.