MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean icebreaker stationed in Punta Arenas

View of Pta. Arenas port during the present week end (LPA)

Chile's Navy icebreaker “Almirante Viel” which is scheduled to be arriving at the end of the month, will be permanently stationed in Punta Arenas, reported this week Chilean naval authorities.

Rear Admiral Edmundo Gonzalez said Admiral Viel, the backbone of Chile's Antarctic program, has five missions scheduled for the coming 2007/08 season, two before the end of the year and three in the coming summer. "The moment the icebreaker calls in Punta Arenas it will be permanently incorporated to the Naval Zone III and will spend the whole year in the Magallanes and Antarctic area, with the exception possibly of two months when she returns to Talcahuano for repairs and maintenance", said R/A Gonzalez. Almirante Viel normally spent only three months in the south of Chile. Chile also recently moved the headquarters of its Antarctic Institute from Santiago to Punta Arenas. R/A Gonzalez said that the high seas tug Lautaro will also be involved in Antarctic activities this coming season, basically oriented in support of the combined naval patrolling with Argentina in the area extending from the southern tip of South America to Antarctica. Another boost for Naval Zone III seated in Punta Arenas is the renewal of its air fleet: seven new search and military transport aircrafts will be incorporated in the next two years. They are the Spanish built CASA C-295 model. R/A Gonzalez made the announcement in a week in which Punta Arenas has been literally "invaded" by the Chilean Navy. Two recently incorporated frigates, Almirante Williams and Almirante Latorre together with the support vessel Araucano and 750 marines are participating in logistic exercises in the area and this weekend will be opon day for the public. The vessels are under the command of R/A Gustavo Jordan Astaburuaga commander of the Chilean surface fleet and have been on operations along the Chilean coast and the Drake Passage since September 20 when they left the port of Valparaíso. The commander said the Chilean fleet is currently made up of seven frigates and two auxiliary vessels. The frigates are mostly former Royal Navy and Dutch Navy vessels. "They are second hand, but have been refurbished, possess state of the art technology and great capability", underlined the naval officer. Incorporating these vessels has meant sending over 1.800 Chilean seamen and officers overseas for training and returning with the now Chilean flagged men-o-war.