Work begins to raise workboat after January sinking tragedy
The vessel in which six crew died will undergo expert analysis once it is recovered.
Salvage work has begun at a Chilean salmon farm to raise a workboat that sank with the loss of six crew in January, reports Fish Farming Expert's Chilean sister site, Salmonexpert.cl.
The Koñimo I catamaran sank during the night while was moored in the Reloncaví estuary in Los Lagos Region.
The vessel, which lies in 40 metres of water, is being raised as part of efforts to find the causes of the sinking.
The operation is being carried out under the supervision of the Maritime Governorate of Puerto Montt and is coordinated by the Homicide Brigade of the PDI, the Port Captaincy of Cochamó and the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Prosecutor María Angélica de Miguel said: “We are carrying out all the necessary manoeuvres for the refloating. All the required expert analyses will be performed, which is why the PDI (Chilean Investigative Police) is with us.”
The complete extraction process could take more than two weeks, Radio ADN reported.
Once the vessel is brought to the surface, it will be taken to Compas Marine’s Yagana platform, a 100-metre by 27-metre barge where the investigations ordered by the Prosecutor's Office will continue.
The catamaran sank at a Salmones Austral fish farm and the companies involved in the process have actively collaborated in the investigation.
