''Esmeralda'' is a steel-hulled four-masted barquentine of the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

Construction

The ship is the sixth to carry the name ''Esmeralda''. The first was the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

'' Esmeralda'' captured from the Spanish at

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, by Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane of the

, in a bold incursion on the night of 5 November 1820. The second was the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

'' Esmeralda'' of the Chilean Navy, which, set against superior forces, fought until sunk with colors flying on 21 May 1879 at the

Battle of Iquique The Battle of Iquique was a Naval warfare, naval engagement on 21 May 1879, during the War of the Pacific, where a Chile, Chilean corvette commanded by Arturo Prat, Arturo Prat Chacón faced a Peru, Peruvian Ironclad warship, ironclad under Mig ...

. These events are considered significant milestones by the Chilean navy. Construction began in

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, Spain, in 1946. She was intended to become Spain's national training ship. 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. Work on the ship was temporarily halted. In 1950

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and Spain entered into negotiations in which Spain offered to repay debts incurred to Chile as a result of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

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 on 12 May 1953 before an audience of 5,000 people. She was christened by Mrs. Raquel Vicuña de Orrego using a bottle wrapped in the national colors of Spain and Chile. She was delivered as a four-masted topsail

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

to the Government of Chile on 15 June 1954, Captain Horacio Cornejo Tagle in command. Her sister ship is the training ship for the Spanish Navy, the four-masted topsail schooner '' Juan Sebastián de Elcano''. Sometime in the 1970s, ''Esmeralda's'' rigging was changed to a four-masted barquentine by replacing the fore gaffsail by two main staysails. The third (top) main staysail is still in place. She has now five staysails, three gaff topsails, six jibs, three gaff sails, four square sails, 21 all in all.

Voyages

Her first voyage was to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and then on to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where a distillation plant was installed. She then proceeded through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

and arrived at

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

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 participated in Operation Sail at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1964, 1976 and 1986, and the

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

World Sail in 1983. She also participated in International Regattas of Sail in 1964, 1976, 1982 and 1990 winning the Cutty Sark Trophy in the last two participations. In 2016, ''Esmeralda'' visited New Zealand to participate in the 75th Anniversary Celebrations of the foundation of the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

. In 2019, ''Esmeralda'' visited Singapore in light of the APEC Chile 2019.

Prison and torture centre

Reports from

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, the

US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and Chilean Truth and Reconciliation Commission describe the ship as a kind of floating jail and torture chamber for political prisoners of the

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

regime from 1973 to 1990. It is claimed that probably over a hundred persons were kept there at times and subjected to hideous treatment, among them British priest Michael Woodward, who later died as a result of torture. Due to this dark part of its history, the international voyages of the ''Esmeralda'' are often highly controversial - especially at the time when Pinochet was still in power but even after the restoration of Chilean democracy. The ship's arrival in various ports is accompanied by protests and demonstrations by local political groups and Chilean left-wing political exiles. Such protest actions were recorded, among other places, at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Dartmouth,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

and

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, as well as at

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

in Chile itself. '' The Dark Side of the White Lady (El lado obscuro de la dama blanca)'', a documentary film by Chilean-Canadian filmmaker Patricio Henríquez, portrays this history.Anabelle Nicoud
"Le côté obscur de la Dame Blanche: retour sur la torture au Chili"
'' La Presse'', January 13, 2007.

General characteristics

*Length: 109.8 metres *Beam: 13.11 metres *Maximum draught: 7 metres *Stanchion: 8.7 metres *Gunwale height: 5.3 metres *Maximum displacement: 3,754 tons *Maximum engine speed: 13 knots *Maximum sail speed: 17.5 knots *Armament: 4 × 57 mm ceremonial gun mounts *Crew: 300 sailors, 90 midshipmen *Sails: 29 total with a sail area of 2,870 m², on four masts *Mast height: 48.5 metres

References

External links