MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile: News in brief.

Headlines:
HMS Norfolk becomes “Almirante Cochrane”; Two sperm whales grounded in Magellan Strait beaches; Chilean algae exports total 99 million US dollars; Methanex back in production after Argentine strikers cut gas supply.

HMS Norfolk becomes "Almirante Cochrane"

Decommissioned HMS Norfolk became the Chilean Navy's frigate "Almirante Cochrane" during a solemn ceremony held Wednesday in Portsmouth.

The vessel is the first of three former Royal Navy Type-23 frigates to be handed over to Chile, under a £134 million pound sales agreement signed in September 2005. The two other frigates (former HM Ships Grafton and Marlborough will join their sister ship in the Chilean Navy in 2008. Present at the ceremony were Chilean Ambassador in London Rafael Moreno; Commander of the Chilean Navy Admiral Rodolfo Codina; Naval Attaché in London Captain Charles Le May; the frigate's new captain Julio Leiva and the Major General Malcolm Wood head of Logistics from UK' MOD. HMS Norfolk was the first of the modern generation of Type 23 frigates, launched by Princess Margaret in July 1987 and taking up the mantle of naval service in November 1989. Her dimensions are: 133 meters long, beam 16.1 meters and 4.200 tons displacement. She can reach a speed of 28 knots. Her armament includes: 8 Harpoon SSMs, 32 Seawolf SAMs in a vertical launch system, 4.5 in gun, 2 Oerlikon/DES 30-mm and 2 twin tubes for lightweight ASW torpedoes; she carries one Lynx or one EH, 1 01 Merlin ASW helicopter. "Almirante Cochrane" crew of 180 will be staying in Plymouth for an eight weeks course beginning January.

Two sperm whales grounded in Magellan Strait beaches

Two sperm whales were found stranded in beaches, six miles away, close to the east access of the Magellan Strait over the weekend reports the Chilean press.

Both males, weighing an estimated forty tons each, were sighted by the Chilean Navy in the Dungeness Point area, 300 kilometers north of Punta Arenas. The area is thinly populated and is estimated the mammals had been beached for several days before having been discovered by locals. Cetacean experts from Punta Arenas were flown to the area to take skin and mouth samples for testing possible causes of the beach groundings. At first sight the two huge mammals, fifteen meters long show no signs of violence or injuries which has led experts to believe they lost their way or were misguided by some acoustic interference. Punta Arenas press reports it was decided to leave the carcasses in the beaches were they stranded.

Chilean algae exports total 99 million US dollars

Chilean algae and by product exports totaled 99 million US dollars in the first nine months of this year, which represents a 16% increase over the same period last year.

According to the latest release from the Chilean Fisheries Exports report, the volume of algae and by products exports in September was 3.627 tons, 5.9% up the same month in 2005. < br >As to prices the ton of agar-agar reached 19.800 US dollars and dried algae, 806 US dollars, which is 40% and 5.9% dearer than last year. < br >So far this year dry algae make up 84.4% of total volume exported; carragenina 7.6% and agar-agar, 4.9%. However agar-agar represented the higher value in exports, 38% compared to 26.5% for dried algae and 25.5% for carragenina.

Methanex back in production after Argentine strikers cut gas supply

The world's main methanol producer Methanex reported Wednesday that operations were gradually returning to normal following the improved supply of Argentina natural gas which had been interrupted last week because of labor strife in the neighboring country's main gas producing provinces.

Argentina the only supplier of gas to Chile temporarily cut the provision last week when striking workers interrupted the flow. Once their demands were met the supply was gradually restored. This forced Punta Arenas located Methanex to close down one of its four main modules in the plant, but no details were given of the extent of the stoppage. < br >Over the weekend the flow of Argentine natural gas to the Methanex complex "begun to be reestablished gradually and modules 2 and 3 are back in operation according to gas availability", said Paul Schioditz, Methanex CEO. "Currently the four plants of the complex are operating although they still have to reach full nominal capacity", admitted Schioditz. Methanex has an annual production of 3.8 million tons of methanol. Chile's Energy Commission reported Wednesday that Argentine natural gas supply is "almost normal".