Wellboat on the rocks in Chile
A 63-metre vessel carrying out work at a fish farming facility in Chile ran aground on Monday
Yesterday morning maritime authorities in the Aysén region of Chile received a report that the wellboat Vali had run aground after hitting rocks, reports Fish Farming Expert's Chilean sister site, Salmonexpert.cl.
At the time, the vessel - operated by Naviera Detroit Chile - was carrying out work for the Serrano fish farm at Isla Verdugo, about 18 nautical miles southeast of Melinka in the Aysén region.
According to the Chilean Navy, the 63-metre-long vessel began taking on water after the grounding. However, the crew took preventive measures during the evacuation to limit water ingress.
Oily residues were also observed at the accident site as a result of damage to parts of the hull.
Vessel evacuated
All 14 crew members were transferred to a nearby fish farm on the motorboat Don Facundo.
According to the navy, Naviera Detroit company will be responsible for the work of restoring the vessel.
Despite the hull damage, maritime authorities state that the vessel's tanks still contain around 161 cubic metres of fuel, and that no signs of fuel spillage into the sea have been recorded.
The cause of the grounding of the vessel, which has a draft of five metres, will now be investigated further.
