Previously referred to with the project name Antartica 1, it replaced the 1969-built second-hand vessel Almirante Óscar Viel acquired from Canada in 1994 and decommissioned in 2019. Accounts differ as to when construction of the ship began. The Santiago Times reported the first steel was cut in May 2017, while Jane's Navy International reported construction began in August 2018.[3][9] The ship was built at the Chilean shipyard ASMAR.[10] She was classed by Lloyd’s Register.[10]Maritime Executive reported in 2016 that she would be comparable to Argentina's ARA Almirante Irízar.[11]
In April 2024, the ship completed its first round of sea trials.[13]
Design
Almirante Viel is 111 metres (364 ft 2 in) long overall and has a beam of 21 metres (68 ft 11 in) and draft of 7.2 metres (23 ft 7 in). She displaces 10,400 tonnes (10,200 long tons).[2] She has accommodation for 150 crew and passengers such as scientists and researchers.[3]
Almirante Viel has a diesel-electric propulsion system.[2] Her power plant consists of four medium-speed diesel generators: two sixteen-cylinderWabtec 16V250MDC and two six-cylinder Wabtec 6L250MDC units. The total rating of the power plant is 20.7 megawatts (27,800 hp). The engines meet International Maritime Organization Tier III emission limits for nitrogen oxides without the use of selective catalytic reduction.[15] Her two fixed pitch propellers, each driven by a 4.5-megawatt (6,000 hp) electric propulsion motor, give Almirante Viel speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) and range of 14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) in open water, and ability to break 1-metre (3.3 ft) level ice at a continuous speed of 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph). For maneuvering and dynamic positioning, she has a 2-megawatt (2,700 hp) bow thruster.[2][5]
^
Carolina Contreras (2017-07-20). "Chile Builds Its First Icebreaker Ship". Dialogo Americas. Archived from the original on 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2018-10-25. 'Antártica 1 will have greater capabilities for supporting high-level, onboard scientific activities which will allow it to break from the seasonality of scientific work, accessing data in real time, and analyzing the results obtained while underway,' Retamales said. 'It will have modern, hydroacoustic equipment, such as echo sounding, sonar, an ocean floor profiler, a current profiler, and a high-precision acoustic positioning system. It will also be outfitted with biology, microbiology, and chemistry labs, and it will have the means for collecting, storing, and preserving water samples and samples from the seabed, with the capacity provided by modern and spacious refrigeration chambers,' he added.
^"Chile plans to build a new icebreaker and has earmarked an initial 150 million". South Atlantic News Agency. 2014-12-09. Archived from the original on 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2018-10-25. Chilean defense sources said the icebreaker project to replace the 6.500 ton Almirante Viel include an initial budget of 150 million dollars and building the new 8.000 ton ice breaker with foreign technical assistance in local shipyard Asmar. Meanwhile, Marinero Fuentealba, an 1,800-ton offshore patrol vessel with reinforced hull for polar operations, is being completed by ASMAR for commissioning in August.
^"Chile Moves Forward with New Icebreaker". Maritime Executive. 2016-02-01. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2018-10-25. The new vessel, to be delivered in 2021, will rival Argentina's 15,000 ton displacement Almirante Irizar, presently the largest icebreaker in South America.
