By Sebastián Betancourt
The salmon industry developing in the south of Chile is pushing shipping companies dedicated to fish transport towards the use of clean energies, as part of the projected environmental guidelines.
In that context, the general manager of Nachipa Wellboats, Carlos Báez, explained that “we transport live salmon. Our clients are the salmon producers who, today, are very concerned about clean energy, meaning they are the main drivers for us to adopt this type of energy.”
“As such, we are willing to do it and we are concerned about which ones will be, in the future, the most efficient and available in our country,” stated the general manager of the company with roots in Naviera Chilena del Pacífico (Nachipa).
Regarding the current challenges for moving towards clean fuels, Báez pointed to “production and distribution, mainly distribution. We work in the southern zone of Chile, from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas and, obviously, the distribution has to be available so that our vessels can supply themselves adequately and safely.”
“The construction of a new wellboat today takes something close to 30 or 32 months. We should be sure that, by the end of construction plus a couple of months of adaptation, that new fuel is available in Chile and in the south of the country, particularly in our case to be able to supply the wellboat,” he added.
Technology at Nachipa Wellboats
Carlos Báez referred to the performance that Nachipa Wellboats currently maintains in its maritime transport operations in the southern zone of Chile and indicated that “we have a technology that is highly in demand today.”
“Precisely, the industry is paying, it is requiring cutting-edge technologies, our vessels are Rolls-Royce design, so they have a very important technological differentiation from the market,” highlighted the general manager.
“Our future is quite long-term. We see clear possibilities for expansion and we are always willing for the growth of the industry, we hope it develops and can produce more salmon in Chile,” explained Báez, regarding the projections for the company.
