Argentina has banned a Manx-flagged ship from its ports as tensions heighten over oil drilling in the Falklands.

The Danish-owned Thor Leader, which is registered in the Isle of Man, has been told to keep away by the country's under secretariat of ports and waterways.

News reports in Argentina say the vessel's cargo of 7,000 tons of steel tubes is destined for the Falklands, to help the Ocean Guardian oil rig start exploratory drilling.

The Thor Leader's owners say she is taking the steel tubes to Egypt, but was in the South Atlantic last month delivering cargo to the oil platform.

A regulation signed by the Argentinian government says the ship lacks departure papers, which would be issued by the National Maritime Authority at 'Puerto Argentino' in the 'Malvinas Islands'.

But no such body has existed since 1982 when Argentinian forces were expelled from the Falklands by British forces.

The Argentinian government still claims sovereignty over the Islands and the row has come as it continues to argue with Britain about who has the rights to drill for oil in the waters around them.