Authorities in Chile have demanded the swift removal of 180 tons of dead salmon from a wellboat that sunk near the exit of the Strait of Megellan on 6th July.
A team of Navy divers were deployed to check the vessel and have found that there is currently no risk that the dead fish or fuel from the ship will contaminate the surrounding environment.
The incident, which occurred around 195 kilometres west of Punta Arenas, Chile, saw the vessel, operated by Detroit Chile, sink after running into trouble near Tamar Island.
#PuntaArenas 13 tripulantes del Wellboat “Heimdall” de la empresa Detroit fueron rescatados ya que la nave tocará fondo y rompiera casco en paso Tamar, Seno Glacier.
El hecho se registró esta madrugada y el rescate fue realizado por personal de la @Armada_Chile @CHVNoticias @Mega pic.twitter.com/0Ge0iSfJMy— Rafael Borquez (@BorquezRafael) July 6, 2022
Another wellboat, “Var”, set sail on Friday evening to begin the task of removing the large quantity of salmon from the vessel. Once the fish have been extracted, officials will remove the fuel from the boat before it is reflected and towed back to port.
Read also: Chilean wellboat sinks, killing thousands of Australis Seafoods’ salmon
All thirteen members of the crew were unharmed in the incident, with some returning to port and others remaining behind to work on the recovery process.
After the vessel had sunk, the navy set sail with equipment to prevent fuel and other contaminants from spreading to the local area and polluting the environment. The navy subsequently reported after an inspection that there were traces of fuel at sea.
Graphic: FleetMon.com
The cause of the sinking is under investigation.
SalmonBusiness has reached out to Australis Seafoods for comment.
