Sinking of Janequeo and Leucoton

Caleta Manquemapu whithin the Manquemapu bay, hidden by the hill in foreground is the wreck of the Leucotón. Manquemapu River is right below of the image

On 15 October 1965 sank the Chilean Abnaki-class tug Janequeo (ATF-65)^[1] off Caleta Llico, 60 nm south of Corral, Chile, with lost of 51 men.

The Leucotón (PP-61)^[2] under command of Pedro Fierro Herreros was ordered to the periodic maintenance of the lighthouses but on 2 August, as bad weather threatened the ship, they were forced to take refuge in Caleta Manquemapu whithin Bahía San Pedro. As the anchor chain broke, the ship ran aground. The naval authorities sent immediately the Janequeo under the command of Marcelo Léniz Bennet, in order to free the Leucotón. On board was a rescue team of 5 men under command of Claudio Hemmerdinger.

The crew of Leucotón made safely to shore but despite days of effort, she could not be freed.

Bahía San Pedro, located at 40°53′29.24″S 73°51′1.59″W / 40.8914556°S 73.8504417°WCoordinates: 40°53′29.24″S 73°51′1.59″W / 40.8914556°S 73.8504417°W

At 16:00 on 14 August a tow line got entangled at the propeller of Janequeo. Despite the intensive work of Hemmerdinger's frogmen, it wasn't possible to free the screw. The Casma and the Yelcho were now ordered to the rescue, but they couldn't enter the bay Manquemapu, due to huge waves over 15 m high. That day the Janequeo struck repeatedly the rock Campanario, and although still afloat, was partially flooded.

At 9:20 on 15 August the Janequeo broke in two. Only 28 men of the crew survived and made it safely to shore, but 51 men were lost.

Aftermath

On 15 September 1965 appeared the first edition of the Chilean Magazine Punto Final with an analysis of the disaster of the Janequeo. Journalist Miguel Torres accused the admiralty of the Chilean Navy for the desaster.^[3]

The Leucotón shipwreck is still rusting in the beach of Manquemapu.

The Patrol boat Fuentealba (15t), the Landing ship Hemmerdinger (1500t) and patrol boat Odger (215t) of the Chilean Navy are named after three of the sailors who died in the disaster.

See also

• List of decommissioned ships of the Chilean Navy

References

1. Former USS Potawatomi (ATF-109)
2. Former USS ATA-200, Length 43m and 860t

External links

• Omar Valdivieso Véliz, Los Condenados de la Mar, retrieved on 25 September 2013
• Fotos of the ships in webarchiv of
• Pamela Altamirano Cárdenas and Miriam Margarita Bernal Poblete Caleta Manquemapu