The container ship Maersk Saltoro arrived in the bay of Valparaíso as the first Chilean port of call, following the incident with the shipment of cherries to China that occurred last January.
Its arrival happened amidst judicial processes, still underway, in the city’s courts, related to the breakdown it suffered during a voyage from San Antonio to Nansha, which caused a delay and resulted in the loss of more than 1,300 containers of cherries.
The vessel, which is on its rotation, arrived from the Port of Callao, in Peru, from where it set sail in the early hours of October 7. Its next destination is the port facility of San Antonio, where it will dock on the night of Monday the 13th of the same month at berth 2 of San Antonio Terminal Internacional (STI).
Subsequently, the ship will head north to the Mexican seaport of Manzanillo, where, according to the schedule, it will remain between October 25 and 27, before returning to the Asian giant.
Incident
On December 27, 2025, Maersk Saltoro began a voyage from the Port of San Antonio bound for the port facility of Nansha, in China, on voyage 450W. The vessel was carrying, among other cargo, more than 1,300 containers with Chilean cherries that were supposed to reach the Asian giant for the Chinese New Year on January 29, 2025. The arrival date was scheduled for January 17, according to judicial documents.
However, during the day of January 13, 2025, the vessel suffered an engine breakdown in the middle of the Pacific, near the Micronesia area, remaining adrift for 23 days. After resuming its route, the ship called at the Asian terminal on February 17, one month later than the scheduled date.
Once at the destination and after examinations by the local authorities, it was determined that the fruit cargo could not be marketed due to the poor condition in which the cargo was found, being unfit for consumption. Once its condition was defined, the complete destruction of the fruit shipment was carried out.
The cargo was valued at over USD 120 million and its loss meant an economic impact for the involved exporting companies. An analysis by the consulting firm Colliers placed the event with the Maersk Saltoro as one of the factors that influenced the monetary losses left by the 2024-2025 cherry season for Chilean farmers.
Judicial Process
On Chilean soil, the Maersk Saltoro incident with the fruit shipment to China moved to the judicial arena. In one of the processes, initiated by the shipping company Maersk; the shipowner, Argosy PTE. LTD.; and the operator, Sinergy Marine PTE. LTD. in the 5th Civil Court of Valparaíso, a request was made to begin the procedure for the constitution and eventual distribution of the limitation of liability fund.
In this procedure, the applicants stated that “subsequent to the call of the M/V Maersk Saltoro at the Port of Nansha, China, it is planned, within its itinerary, to call – as the first Chilean port – at the Port of Valparaíso, Chile, on its voyage No. 522W, as evidenced by the document entitled ‘Long term schedule’”.
“Considering that the first Chilean port of call for the vessel after the incident will be the Port of Valparaíso, US.
has jurisdiction to hear the procedure related to the constitution of a limitation of liability fund”, they argued, justifying the relevance of the Buenos Aires court in the case and supporting the postulate with articles present in the Commercial Code.
According to the aforementioned long-term schedule, the containership had an estimated arrival date of June 5, 2025, in Valparaíso, around 15:00 hours, subsequently setting sail for San Antonio on voyage 522W. However, despite the indicated date, the arrival did not materialize.
A document issued by the representative lawyer of one of the affected exporters dated June 6 stated that “the applicants -of the procedure- maintained that the Maersk Saltoro would arrive at the Port of Valparaíso on June 05, 2025. It is a public and well-known fact that the M/N Maersk Saltoro is not in the Port of Valparaíso, nor is it expected to arrive at said port.”
Another file explained that the ship was undergoing an inspection process that extended its development, due to the unavailability of spare parts for the engine, so all necessary repairs were not completed and, consequently, a certification guaranteeing compliance with safety and seaworthiness standards was missing.
Despite the back and forth in the process, the Maersk Saltoro completed its arrival at Valparaíso as the first Chilean port, following the events that occurred last January, during the voyage to China. Likewise, Maersk, Argosy and Sinergy Marine reinforced the validity of the constitution of the limitation of liability fund in the Buenos Aires court.
