Valparaiso Terminal

Today we embarked around 9:30 am with an overcast sky towards the Valparaiso Terminal, a local port that operates throughout the year. The port sits on government owned property that spans across the waterfront. We arrived after a quick twenty minute bus ride from our hotel in Viña del Mar which has a population of around 200,000 people. We were greeted by the manager of communications along with director of safety. They began the tour with a quick explanation of what their company was and how it operates on a daily basis. The company leases the land of a 30 year lease from the city of Valparaiso. This port undergoes continuous competition from other ports in Chile, a country that lies on the Pacific Ocean. There are many different sizes and types of ships that come into the port for various reasons. Many cargo ships come to bring many imports from other countries around the world. Their major trading partner is China. Chile imports more steel through this port than any other material. Once the shipment arrives there are a series of steps that must occur before the process is complete. The ship’s captain has to signal the pilot to help park the boat because this is such an arduous process that not even the highly qualified captain can do alone.

The group poses with our instructors in front of the port.

There are many variables that the Valparaiso Terminal has to take into consider that require cooperation of two or more people. There is also a check on all ships that come into the port in accordance with the ISBS code that helps to prevent terrorism from occurring. Once these steps are completed the ship may begin unloading its cargo using the massive cranes that have been put in place by the port. These cranes are highly efficient and can move upwards of 40 to 50 crates per hour operating constantly throughout the day. After the tour, one of our group members, Laura said that she thought this business was unique because the workers signed one eight hour contract everyday they chose to continue to work. She continued by summarizing that she did not expect the company to have employees from many backgrounds including engineering, business administration and everyday laborers. Another one of my colleagues, Michael Dalton thought that the logistics aspect of the business and the coordination of ships and trucks was very interesting. He brought up a very good point that the logistics team made a marvelous effort to add a truck route for the drivers accessing the port. These drivers are able to take an alternate route that avoids traffic which allows the materials to reach the port as soon as possible. Following the business visit, the group made its way towards our next activity of the day, a boat tour of the Valparaiso port.

Our instructors begin the meeting with some basic safety precautions.

            Our group split up into two separate sections because the boats did not have the capacity two fit all of us in one. This helped us out because we were able to become more personable with the tour guide and could hear him clearer along with initiating a question and answer session.

Our group sets sail for the Valparaiso boat tour.

 As we took off, the first things we saw were the massive cranes that I previously talked about. The cranes were even bigger than I thought as we got closer. Following the cranes, we went by a famous naval training ship called the Esmeralda that has been used to train the Chilean Armada for many years. There was also a famous French lighthouse that had been in place now for many years that was key for incoming ships into the port. Next we saw many of their famous naval ships. Many of them were armed with four missiles that were able to fire on a brisk command from a higher officer. Some of the ships even had airplane and helicopter landing pads. One of the more famous ships, number eighteen, is the command center that tells all of the other ships what to do in a situation of battle or just simply to make a small adjustment. Another one of their ships is specifically designed to carry basic necessities and food to the remote island of the west coast of Chile called Easter Island. As my boat wrapped up the tour, we ran into a cool flock of pelicans which are very uncommon to see back in New England and finally, we saw a sea lion resting on a buoy enjoying the warm climate.

Michael Dalton is ecstatic to see a sea lion!

 After returning to the mainland, I talked to another one of my colleagues to recap their experience. Ryan Frank thought the boat ride was very soothing and offered a different view of the port that we had not seen before.

The day would then carry on towards our next business visit,Kingston Vineyard.