Ports still feeling impact of Chilean quake

The Chilean port of Valparaiso is reported to be 90% operational following the recent earthquake, however ports close to the epicentre at Concepcion have fared less well.

According to the Valparaiso port authorities, the port has six berths operational (sites 1 to 4, 6 and 8), while sites 5 and 7 are still undergoing review to establish constraints and short-term repairs.

However, the port of Talcahuano has been badly affected, with berths 1 to 3 totally collapsing and currently submerged. Worse still, major cracks have appeared in paving material, resulting in the loss of significant amounts of infill material. The cost of getting the port operational again has been estimated at $100m.

At San Vicente Port, SVTI, the container handling facility, has survived relatively intact, although a major problem remains given the collapse of many of the access ways to the terminal. Embankments are being built to overcome these new bottlenecks. Berth 1 has sustained serious damage.

At Lirquen harbour, berth 2 at the breakbulk terminal has re-opened, although berth 1 has been reported to be unusable.

The four berth box terminal at Coronel Port was reasonably unaffected, although power was initially lost to the gantry cranes. The general cargo terminal, however, did sustain some damage.

At San Antonio, there was some movement of terrain across berths 1-5, with one crane at Puerto Panul actually falling into the sea. Two phenol tanks were ruptured, resulting in the loss of 800 cubic metres of material, some of which was washed into the sea.

(Source: Port Strategy)