Permits also will be required by ships sailing between Argentina and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Cabinet Chief Anibal Fernandez told a news conference in Buenos Aires. Argentina also claims sovereignty over those British-controlled islands.

Argentina protested to Britain earlier this month over plans to begin offshore exploration drilling near the remote Falklands, which are called the Islas Malvinas in Spanish. The nations fought a short war in 1982 over the islands.

"Any boat that wants to travel between ports on the Argentine mainland to the Islas Malvinas, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ... must first ask for permission from the Argentine government," Fernandez said.

He said a presidential decree would force all ships bound for the islands or traveling through waters claimed by Argentina to secure the new permit.

Geologists think the area around the Falklands could hold rich energy reserves, raising the stakes in the sovereignty disputes.

Nearly three decades after the Falklands War that killed almost 1,000 people, tensions over the islands simmer.

Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd (FOGL.L) said on Monday it had agreed with Desire Petroleum Plc (DES.L) to contract a rig to drill the first ever well in the East Falklands Basin.

The company said it expected the drilling to start within the first half of the year.

**Reporting by Helen Popper; Editing by Paul Simao