Breached Ferry Scuttled off Chile

Navimag’s RoRo ferry Amadeo I, which ran aground and capsized off southern Chile in August 2014, was towed some 70 kilometers off Diego de Almagro Island and scuttled on Monday, September 21.

The ferry was sunk in 2,700-meter-deep waters, bringing to an end a year-long salvage operation assigned to Florida-based Resolve Marine Group.

Navimag decided to sink the ferry after insurance agents inspected the vessel and declared it to be a total write-off.

Amadeo I was towed by the tugboat Resolve Commander, after Chile’s Directorate General of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (Directemar) granted a permission for the vessel to be sunk.

The scuttling was monitored by Armada de Chile.The ferry was en route from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt when it hit a rock and ran aground in Kirke Canal, some 100 nautical miles north west of Punta Arenas on Aug 18.

The vessel suffered a breach starboard, causing it to take on water and capsize in coastal shallows, with most of the hull laying above the water.

World Maritime News Staff