Esmeralda (BE-43)
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Esmeralda (BE-43) |
Esmeralda (BE-43) is a steel-hulled four-masted
barquentine tall ship of the
Chilean Navy.
The ship is the sixth to carry the name
Esmeralda. The first was frigate
Esmeralda captured from the Spanish at
Callao,
Peru by Captain O'Brien of the Chilean Navy, in a bold incursion on the night of
5 November,
1820. The second was corvette
Esmeralda of the Chilean Navy which, set against superior forces, fought until sunk with colors flying on
May 21,
1879 at the
Battle of Iquique. These events mark important milestones for the Chilean Navy and the ship's name is said to evoke the values of courage and sacrifice.
Reports from Amnesty International, US Senate and
Chilean Truth and Reconciliation Commission describe the ship as a kind of a floating jail-torture chamber for political prisoners of the
Augusto Pinochet's military regime from 1973 to 1980. Probably over a hundred persons were kept there at times, and subjected to hideous treatment.
She began construction in
Cadiz,
Spain in
1946. During her construction in
1947 the yard in which she was being built suffered catastrophic explosions which damaged the ship and placed the yard on the brink of bankruptcy. Further work on the ship was temporarily halted. In
1950 Chile and Spain entered into negotiations in which Spain offered to repay debts incurred to Chile as a result of the
Spanish Civil War in the form of manufactured products, including the not yet completed
Esmeralda. Chile accepted the offer and the ship was formally transferred to the ownership of Chile in
1951. Work then continued on the ship. She was finally launched
12 May,
1953 with an audience of 5,000 people in attendance. She was christened by Mrs. Raquel Vicuña de Orrego using a bottle wrapped in the national colors of Spain and Chile. She was delivered to the Government of Chile on
15 June,
1954, Captain Horacio Cornejo Tagle in command.
Her first sailing was to the
Canary Islands and then on to
New Orleans where a distillation plant was installed. She then proceeded through the
Panama Canal and arrived at
Valparaíso, Chile on
1 September,
1954 to much fanfare.
Since her commissioning,
Esmeralda has been a training ship for the Chilean Navy. She has visited more than 300 ports worldwide acting as a floating embassy for Chile. She has participated in Operation Sail at
New York in
1964,
1976 and
1989. She participated in
Osaka World Sail in
1983. She has also participated in International Regattas of Sails in 1964, 1976,
1982 and
1990 winning the coveted
Cutty Sark Trophy in the latter two participations.
Esmeralda is the second tallest sailing ship in the world.
*Length: 113 meters
*Beam: 13.11 meters
*Maximum draught: 7 meters
*Stanchion: 8.7 meters
*Gunwhale height: 5.3 meters
*Maximum displacement: 3,673 tons
*Maximum engine speed: 13 knots
*Maximum sail speed: 17.5 knots
*Armament: 2 × 57 mm ceremonial gun mounts
*Crew: 300 sailors, 90 midshipmen
*Sails: 31 total with a sail area of 2,870 m
2, on four masts
*Mast height: 48.5 meters
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Esmeralda: The torture ship Site of a committee led by Germán F. Westphal, a former Chilean political prisoner and a professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County. They believe the ship should not be allowed in ports as long as the crimes remain unpunished.
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"Esmeralda" website
