After being adrift for 23 days due to a failure of its main engine, the container ship Maersk Saltoro—chartered by the shipping company Maersk—has completed its repairs and has resumed its journey between the Port of San Antonio and Nansha in China. The ship is carrying 1,353 reefer containers filled with exported Chilean cherries.
It is expected that the vessel will arrive at the Chinese port complex on February 17, always subject to travel conditions. According to Maersk, the containers are connected to the ship’s power and fully operational.
“The owners of the vessel have confirmed that the temporary repairs have been successfully completed and the ship has resumed its journey to the new Port of Nansha, China. The estimated arrival is February 17, 2025, subject to travel conditions,” Maersk stated when consulted by PortalPortuario.
“Meanwhile, the ship owners have confirmed that all the refrigerated containers on board are plugged in and operational,” the shipping company noted.
It is important to remember that the agro-export cargo of the Maersk Saltoro belongs to farms in three regions of southern Chile and was considered a “significant volume” by the president of the National Society of Agriculture, Antonio Walker.
The container ship was one of 25 that loaded cherries at the Port of San Antonio during the well-known “Cherry Season,” characterized by the development of Cherry Express services that connect Chile directly with China to transport this fruit for sale during the “Chinese New Year” or “Lunar New Year,” which this year fell on January 29.
In this regard, the ship departed from San Antonio International Terminal on December 27, but became adrift due to the engine failure on January 13 in the exclusive economic zone of Micronesia.
So far, the producing and exporting associations have not commented on the effects of this incident nor provided any economic assessment regarding the breaches of their contracts for failing to deliver the fruit on time, which may result in financial losses as it can only target the late market.
Photo: Maritime Executive / Maersk Saltoro
Source: https://portalportuario.cl/maersk-saltoro-completa-su-reparacion-y-retoma-viaje-para-entregar-cerezas-chilenas-en-nansha/
