Wood chip carrier refloated following grounding near Corral, Chile

Surabaya Express (Photo: MarineTraffic.com/Sergei Skriabin)

A cargo ship was successfully refloated after it had run aground off the town of Corral in Chile’s Valdivia province on Saturday, May 9.

The Hong Kong-flagged wood chip carrier Surabaya Express was preparing to drop anchor at the Port of Corral when strong winds and heavy currents caused it to drift until it struck a rocky area off nearby Los Molinos at around 20:00 local time on Saturday.

The vessel had arrived at Corral after having sailed out of Shidao, China.

A civilian tug and some Chilean Navy vessels later arrived at the area and managed to refloat Surabaya Express by the early morning of Sunday, May 10.

The ship has since returned to the waters of the Port of Corral, where it remains safely anchored. No injuries were reported from the grounding.


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