Grounded Navimag RoRo COYHAIQUE with Livestock Onboard Listing Heavily off Chile,
c: Chile Navy
The Ro-Ro cargo ship 'Coyhaique', owned by Chilean ferry operator Navimag, grounded in Aysén waters, off the Chilean Port of Aguirre in the early morning hours of 3 July. All of the ship's crew and passengers were evacuated as a result.
The ship was carrying 224 cattle in trucks crossing the Moraleda Canal, at the height of Puerto Aguirre, in the Region of Aysén, on Wednesday, when it hit the ground at about 2.00 am and water entered the engine room.
The cattle are being fed but a number of them have already died, according to local reports.
The Chilean Navy said the ship’s hull had been breached and the engine room flooded, while the crew and passengers had been evacuated.
Divers are currently sealing leaks in the hull and a number of naval assets are deployed as part of efforts to ensure the buoyancy of the 1983-built ship.
Unconfirmed reports have indicated that the ship grounded after the captain committed suicide.
In a statement on July 3, Navimag confirmed that an officer aboard the ship had died, adding that the cause of the death was not known.
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