COVID impact delays delivery of Chilean icebreaker until 2024
Vessel to be delivered 12 months later than originally intended
Completion of the Antártica I project to build a new icebreaker for the Chilean Navy has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing back the prospect of its deployment on Antarctic patrols.
In a 24 November visit to the state-run ASMAR shipyard that is building the vessel, Minister of National Defence Mario Desbordes (right of picture) insisted that it ‘will be operational by the end of 2023’.
However, this statement on the Chilean MoD website differs from comments to local media earlier in November by RAdm Luis Kohler, director of ASMAR, who mentioned a delivery date of 2024.
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