Multipurpose Ship “Sergeant Village”, one of the most versatile of the Chilean Navy

Sargento Aldea Deploys for Antarctic Resupply – SeaWaves – the BEST naval news since 1995

November 11, 2019 (Google Translation) – During November, as every year, the Third Naval Zone is preparing for the start of a new Antarctic Campaign. This year will bring important news to reinforce the presence of the Chilean Navy in the White Continent, as one of the fundamental axes of the Mission Areas of International Cooperation and Environmental Care, established by the Ministry of National Defense.

On this occasion, the 2019-2020 Campaign will be led by the Multipurpose Ship “Sergeant Village”, one of the most versatile of the Chilean Navy and that among its capabilities has different characteristics, being the main one, the support in emergencies in national catastrophes and a high load carrying capacity.

The Unit also has the capacity to receive 4 medium “Super Puma” or “Cougar” helicopters and three barges inside, which maximize the logistic operations of which it participates.

The “Sergeant Village” has participated in important international missions such as the withdrawal of troops from the blue helmets in Haiti in 2017 and the entire withdrawal of the operational resource. On the date, it withdrew more than 600 tons of cargo, 80 military vehicles and 15 containers.

During the summer of 2019-2020, the ship will travel to Antarctica for the first time, supplying the absence of the “Almirante Óscar Viel” icebreaker and carrying out different tasks such as freight transport, transfer of Antarctic operators and garbage removal, among others. .

The Commander-in-Chief of the Third Naval Zone, Rear Admiral Ronald Baasch, commented that the participation of the ship “Sergeant Village” in the Antarctic Campaign will be during the first part of it, that is, “during December, in the period of the opening of the bases, in order to absorb the large amount of material that must be transferred in this first stage. It is for this reason that the Navy and the Third Naval Zone have resolved to include it in logistics operations. In this way, more than 50 containers will be used to transport and distribute in a single trip what the bases need for their operations throughout the year. The trip will be accompanied by the tugboat ‘Lautaro’, which will support the distribution of the bases where the ‘Village’ due to its dimensions cannot reach ”.

For the Unit Commander, Captain Roberto Fonseca, in this Antarctic Campaign “the main contribution of the ship is the strategic load in support of national and international operators. It is in this way that the Unit, being part of the Amphibious and Naval Transport Command, has within its tasks the power to contribute through maritime transport, the main gateway to the Antarctic territory, ”he explained.

The ship will arrive at Punta Arenas on November 15, where it will open its doors to the public on days and times to be confirmed and will be informed by the Communications Department of the Third Naval Zone.