Learn about Chile’s new fisheries and oceanographic research vessel

There has been excellent news for science in Chile with the presentation of the brand-new fisheries and oceanographic research vessel, the "Dr Barbieri". The vessel was provided for through a total fiscal investment of just over US$14.5 million. It will collect scientific data along the entire Chilean coast, including inland waters, from the Chacao Channel to the Gulf of Penas.

The presentation was headed by Economy Minister Nicolás Grau and doctor in Oceanography María Ángela Barbieri, who gave the ship its name. The vessel was built in Valdivia by ASENAV.

The ship is 30.8 meters in length, 9 meters in width and up to 3.9 meters in height. One of its main characteristics is its 3-meter draft, which makes it capable of navigating in shallow waters along the country's entire coast.

"Perhaps one of the most important innovations that we have made during this government has been the creation of the Sustainable Productive Development Program, where we have worked with the Science Ministry, together with other ministries, to invest more in science, technology, knowledge and innovation, oriented to the challenges we have as a country, environmental challenges, productive challenges. This vessel has that exact element at its core: the importance of creating capabilities to provide us with scientific knowledge in order to make better public policy decisions," Nicolás Grau, Economy Minister.

At the event, doctor in Oceanography María Ángela Barbieri highlighted that, in times of climate change, "having a ship like this is wonderful, where we can see everything that happens from the surface to the bottom of the sea, the resources there are, the phytoplankton, zooplankton, all the fish, but also all the environmental variables. It also has an information processing and acquisition system that allows us to work practically in real time."

This vessel, whose first voyage in May will be for crustacean research, will be operated by the Fisheries Development Institute (Instituto de Fomento Pesquero, IFOP). It has the capacity to accommodate eight scientists and eleven crew members. It also has a system to reduce the noise that radiates into the water, in order to avoid interfering with the marine habitat. Furthermore, since its propulsion system is diesel-electric, it generates fewer emissions, and is therefore more environmentally-friendly.