1,300 containers of Chilean cherries are stuck on the Maersk Saltoro due to engine failure while en route to China. The ship departed San Antonio on 27 December under the Cherry Express service and has been stationary near Micronesia since January 13. This incident comes at a time when a record 17,000 containers of cherries have been shipped from the port of San Antonio this season.
According to the tracking service MarineTraffic, the Maersk Saltoro, a 299-meter long and 48-meter wide ship, is "out of reach". The ship was originally scheduled to arrive in the Port of Nansha, China, on January 20, but did not make it. Maritime Optima, another tracking platform, stated that the ship was within Micronesia's exclusive economic zone and was scheduled to arrive on January 19. This setback means that the cherry containers will not reach the Chinese market in time for the Chinese New Year, which falls on January 29 this year.
Despite operating under the Maersk brand, the Maersk Saltoro is owned by Grace Ocean, the same company that owns the MV Dali. Last year, this sister ship was involved in an incident that damaged Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. Both ships are identical. The Maersk Saltoro is operated by Synergy Group and was built in 2015 by Samsung Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. The ship has a cargo capacity of 9,962 TEU.
Source: portalportuario.cl