Patagonia News

Norway/Uruguay-based Pesquera Azul’s has successfully trialed an innovative catch protection cage in whale-rich waters in the southern Indian Ocean. The company says it is a potential game-changer for the longline fishing industry as it grapples with the challenge of whale depredation.The steady increase in the whale population in sub-Antarctic fishing grounds is hampering the longline fishing industry, especially for fatty fish species. Whales have learned to snatch, for example…

The Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) has launched a Request for Proposals (RfP) for 600,000 TEUs over a three-year period on ocean vessels powered by zero-emission fuels.This will help its member companies reduce nearly one million metric tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to taking 215,000 cars off the road. The RfP is the first major buyer-led initiative to accelerate the transition to zero-emission maritime fuels. ZEMBA was launched as a nonprofit membership organization in March 2023 by the Aspen Institute…

CMA CGM Patagonia, the first in a series of 15,000 TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered containerships for French shipping company CMA CGM, has been launched at the CSSC Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai.Ordered in 2019 and due for delivery in mid-August, the vessel is among a fleet of new box ships being put into service by CMA CGM that run on cleaner burning LNG fuel as a means to reduce shipping emissions.After announcing three years ago that it would adopt LNG, CMA CGM has…

The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern communities that rely heavily on seafood and marine mammals for food.But who would have imagined that the clothes we wear might add to this onslaught? Evidence increasingly shows that tiny synthetic fibers are permeating the Arctic Ocean and finding their way into zooplankton…

Portugal’s Navalrocha Shipyard is reporting a flurry of activity in 2020 as it navigates the COVID-19 outbreak and prepares for a packed order book in the coming months.Navalrocha commercial director Sergio Rodrigues said the shipyard had recorded several landmarks during a highly memorable period in its history, completing its first multimillion Euro refit for a seismic survey vessel before managing its first ballast water treatment system (BWTS) installation.The projects were accompanied by a series of other deals involving bunker tankers…

The search for the Argentinian submarine was like hunting for the proverbial needle in a hay stack, except that it was a piece of straw. Elaine Maslin reports. At 7.19am, local time, on November 15, 2017, the last message was received from the San Juan submarine. She belonged to the Argentinian navy and was on a routine mission from Ushuaia in the Patagonia region to Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires province when she lost contact with the military. Fifteen days later, neither the submarine nor any debris had been found and the crew of 44 sailors were presumed dead.

Oceanco’s newest project, the 105-meter (345 ft) diesel-electric driven Esquel has been conceived and designed to explore new territories.Oceanco created Esquel in collaboration with Timur Bozca Design, stylist Gina Brennan, Lateral Naval Architects and Engineering and Pelorus—an experiential and yacht expedition travel company.Sporting a displacement hull with a plumb bow, Esquel has been designed for extensive cruising to remote regions extending from the North Pole to the South Pole and everywhere in between.A blend between an expedition vessel and a superyacht…

In September 2018,  a 17 x 5 meter catamaran completed its final tests in the Tigre Delta of theTigre on the Parana River near Buenos Aires, Argentina prior to its delivery to her Chilean owners.The cat was designed by Eng. Emilio Noel and built by Astilleros Unidelta SA. which has a well-established reputation in a wide range of steel and aluminum workboats. The yard has a plant located in Buenos Aires with 10,000 cubic meters of open and 4,000 cu.m. of covered work space. The…

MAN Diesel & Turbo received an order for three MAN 6L21/31 gensets to power a wellboat newbuilding for Patagonia Wellboat, the Chilean fish-farming operator. The order is the latest in a long history of wellboat references for MAN Diesel & Turbo in Chile’s domestic fish-farming industry, the company said. The new wellboat, to be built at Asenav in Valdivia, Chile, will be the first vessel in a new generation of wellboats designed and developed by Asenav in cooperation with Patagonia Wellboat. Engine delivery is scheduled for Q4 2015 with vessel delivery expected May 2016.

Chile's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an application for an environmental organization against Crow River hydroelectric project, which plans to build in the south of the country with an initial investment of $ 733 million . In a unanimous ruling, the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeals of the Coyhaique region, in September last year dismissed an appeal against the Environmental Evaluation Service that area of ​​the country. The statement argued that the application for protection of the NGO Environmental Prosecutor Corporation is not the way to challenge the administrative decision of 640 generating project in Patagonia megavativos leading and Origin Energy Xstrata and Glencore through Southern Energy.

Chilean electricity HidroAysén megaproject could be reformulated and even incorporate a new partner to rejection awakening in the country, said in an interview published on Sunday President generator Colbun, one of the partners of the initiative . HidroAysén, which Colbún owns 49 percent this week appealed the decision of a ministerial committee rejected the draft build five plants in the Chilean Patagonia due to claims of communities in the area. "We are fully available to have a constructive discussion, both in terms of modifications and reformulations of the project as to incorporate other actors to its development," said Bernardo Larrain in an interview with the newspaper La Tercera.

Argentina signed deals on Friday to borrow $7.5 billion from China at a time when the Latin American country cannot tap global capital markets because of disputes over unpaid debt. Among the deals signed, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed on a loan for $4.7 billion from the China Development Bank for the construction of two hydroelectric dams in Patagonia. China Gezhouba Group Corp and Argentina's Electroingenieria SA  won contracts last year to build the two dams, which will have a combined generating capacity of 1,740 megawatts. The Chinese bank also granted a $2.1 billion loan to help finance a long-delayed railway project that would make it more efficient to transport grains from Argentina's agricultural plains to its ports.

Argentina has won the "geological lottery" with its 1,000-foot-thick Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas field in Patagonia, a spokesman for Chevron said on Thursday, as the U.S. energy giant increases its investments in the country. The company and state-owned oil firm YPF announced plans last month to invest an additional $1.6 billion to develop Vaca Muerta. "The shale play in Argentina is unique because of the rock. Its thickness. Argentina has kind of won the geological lottery," Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson told Reuters on Thursday during a trip to Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires. Shale formations often resemble layer cakes, with shale squeezed between layers of unproductive rock.

Transas USA announce the installation of the Vessel Traffic Management System in Bahia Blanca Port. Under this contract, Transas replaced the previous Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) system with the Transas Navi-Harbor system, which the manufacturer said is specifically designed to ensure maritime navigation safety and efficiency, while at the same time protecting the environment from the possible adverse effects of marine traffic. The new Transas VTS installed makes use of the latest sensors like Radar…

Seatronics do Brazil, an Acteon company, appoint Thiago Montanari as sales manager. Montanari is based in Rio de Janeiro and will report directly to Seatronics vice president, Fabio D’Agostino. Montanari has six years of experience in the offshore industry, working extensively in the Caspian (Kasakhstan), Mediterranean, Adriatic and Caribbean (Cuba) seas, as well as in Angola, Patagonia and Libya. Montanari will be responsible for maturing existing relationships while growing and developing global business opportunities with existing and potential clients.

Several years ago I found myself on a tourist boat that carries out whale watching tours in Península de Valdés, Patagonia, Argentina. This location became famous over the last 30 years, due to the massive yearly encounter of the southern right whales (Eubalena australis) during their mating and birth period from May to December. The southern right whale got its name due to the friendly behavior and the fact that they float when the animal is dead. This was the ‘right’ whale to chase.

On Saturday, 23 July 2011, Hamburg Süd christened the container ship “Santa Cruz” in Shanghai. Sponsor of the “Santa Cruz” was Heike Schmidt, wife of Dr Heino Schmidt, Member of the Executive Board of Hamburg Süd. Santa Cruz is the fourth newbuilding of a series of 10 identical container vessels each featuring a slot capacity of 7,100 TEU and fitted with 1,600 reefer container plugs. This makes her one of the largest ships ever built for Hamburg Süd. All ten vessels in this series are to be delivered by late 2012. Since her delivery at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) in Korea in early May 2011, the “Santa Cruz” has been operating in Hamburg Süd’s service between Asia and South Africa/South America East Coast (New Good Hope Express).

CEO Dan Stabbert and Paul Madden, Head of Sales, announced the sale of the 308 ft ex-NOAA Research Ship Sahara to a European buyer. This vessel is currently undergoing a complete re-fit and conversion at Stabbert Yacht and Ship (SYS) in Seattle. The vessel will be exported from the US and may benefit from a new export financing program that SYS is offering to international buyers. Under this program, Stabbert is able to offer competitive financing for buyers by guaranteeing term financing to creditworthy international buyers for purchases of U.S. vessels and refit/conversion services.

The Argentine supply ship ARA Patagonia (B 1) participates in exercises alongside dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) to mark the beginning of UNITAS. Navies from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain and the United States are participating in UNITAS Atlantic 48-2007 from May 2-13 off the coast of Argentina. UNITAS is a combined South American- and U.S.-sponsored annual exercise that incorporates forces from several participating nations. Argentina is hosting this year’s Atlantic phase. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lenny M. By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Holly Boynton, U.S. Commander, Task Force Four Three (CTF 43) provided supply support to numerous U.S. and partner nation naval ships during a recent exercise off the coast of Argentina.

The coastal scenery of Chile’s Patagonia supports a growing cruise industry that welcomed its latest entrant when the MV Atmosphere was launched at the Astilleros y Servicios Navales S.A. (ASENAV) shipyard at Valdivia in the South of Chile. The owners of the new 45 by 10-meter ship are promising deluxe accommodation for 36 passengers to be cared for by a crew of 24. Following her November delivery, the ship will cruise the central and southern Chilean Patagonia, covering over 750 kilometers/405 nautical miles from the bay of Puerto Montt (latitude 41°28' S and longitude 72°56' W) to the Taitao peninsula (latitude 46°41' S and longitude 73°57' W).

Built to a design by Seattle-based Elliot Bay Design Group, the Chilean pocket cruise ship "Mare Australis" made her maiden voyage this past November. With a crew of 44 catering to the needs of only 127 passengers, this is a unique alternative to the usual mass cruise ship industry. Even the cruise route is unique with the ship offering expeditionary cruises to the Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia through the Tierra del Fuego with terminus at Punto Arenas in Chile and Ushuaia in Argentina. The cruise includes visits to a number of glaciers and passes through parts of the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel. Constructed at the yard of ASENAV (Astilleros y Servicios Navalas S.A.) the ship is 70.1 by 13.4-m with a depth to the first deck of 4.26 m.