The sailors were to travel on a chartered Air France jet from Buenos Aires, the source said, speaking privately.

The Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on Saturday called on Ghana to immediately release the vessel, called Libertad.

Ghana said it will comply with the tribunal's order. The tall masted ship has been in the West African country since October 2.

Deputy Information Minister Samuel Ablakwa told AFP Ghana has decided to file a motion that would seek to set aside the order of a domestic court that called for the ship to be detained.

That order was secured by NML capital, a Cayman Islands investment firm that says Argentina owes it $370 million.

Argentina rescheduled and refinanced much of its debt following an economic crisis and massive default a decade ago. But bonds held by speculative funds such as NML, a subsidiary of New York-based Elliott Capital Management, are among its unsettled business.