MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

HMS Endurance expected in Punta Arenas next Friday

The Royal Navy Ice Patrol Ship HMS Endurance stranded at the western access of the Magellan Strait is being towed by a Chilean tug to Punta Arenas where she's scheduled to arrive next Friday, according to the latest reports from the Chilean Navy Third Naval Zone.

HMS Endurancelate Tuesday suffered engine failure and flooding leaving her without main power and propulsion some 330 kilometres west of Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, while sailing for Valparaiso. Earlier in the day several passengers were air evacuated while 22 others are en route to Punta Arenas on board the fast missile boat "Casma"belonging to the Chilean Navy. They are scheduled to arrive Thursday early morning. Another small vessel, "Pudú" was also on hand in the area as well as the cruise vessel "Norwegian Sun". The Ice Patrol in spite of running out of main power was able to anchor safely at the western access of the Magellan Strait, to wait for the tug "Beagle" to begin towing her. Chilean authorities also had a naval aircraft patrol the area and a helicopter was on stand by for any emergencies. Falkland Islands ship HMS Endurancecurrently has 113 people on board plus a translator. Her Lynx helicopter is transporting drums of drinking water from a Chilean naval garrison. In Punta Arenas HMS Endurance will be joining the Panama flagged cruise vessel "Ushuaia"which ran aground in Antarctica almost two weeks ago and is also in for repairs. Ushuaia is expected to be dry docked in the Asmar naval works sometime next week. Apparently she has four "complicated compartments" when she scraped a rocky sea bottom but "the rest is OK and she came sailing on her own", said Captain Gabriel Barros, manager of Asmar Magallanes in Punta Arenas.