Transbordadora Austral Broom: A Company one Hundred per Cent Regional.

The Company Transbordadora Austral Broom was formed in 1968 due to the necessity of connecting Tierra del Fuego Island to the Continent. Immediately after its opening the construction of the first vessel, Crux Australis, was started.

The same year, shipyard Marco, in Iquique, was asked to construct a landing craft which was later registered in the shipping registry under the name of Crux Australis. This vessel is still working in perfect conditions due to an adequate maintenance system.

Back then, crossing services from Punta Delgada to Punta Espora were done safely and on a regular basis. This fact caused a large increase in traffic. Later, the Company got the landing craft Concon which was used for some years to intensify this crossing service.

As cattle and oil activities were increasing in Tierra del Fuego, both in Chile and Argentina, there was a need for another vessel. In 1976, shipyard Asenav, in Valdivia, was asked to construct a vessel, Patagonia, which was the most modern at that time. This ferry caused a complete change in the maritime traffic what allowed the Company to offer a service at a level of the developed countries. Considering the weather conditions - strong winds and currents - at the Strait of Magellan, the Company found an adequate equipment and the best technology at that time, the propulsion system Schottel. One of the most valuable advantages for the drivers, is the two access ramp that makes it easier entering and leaving the ferry because there is no need to do difficult maneuvers.

In the middle of the decade of the eighties, the Company awarded, at a bidding made by Corfo (Production Development Corporation), landing craft Melinka and ferry Gobernador Figueroa. They worked at Primera Angostura (First Narrow) and between Tres Puentes (in Punta Arenas) and Chilota (in Porvenir). At the end of 1980, due to the demands for another vessel, the Company, one more time, got one of the most modern vessels at that moment, a last generation ferry, Bahía Azul, that was registered in the Company´s shipping records in 1990.

At the beginning of 1977, landing craft Concon was sold to a local company. At present, ferry Gobernador Figueroa does not belong to the Company either, it was purchased by a company called Cruz del Sur in 1992, and is working at De Chacao channel, X Region.

At the beginning of 1995, the Company got an open sea launch, Toucan, which is being used to transport pilots. At present, Transbordadora Austral Broom has a total of five vessels.

One of the Company´s characteristics is that we are one hundred per cent regional. It means that the Company was born in Magallanes, it is being developed and is still working.

Captain Jens Sorensen is always remembered amongst those men who first worked for the Company. Due to his shipping experience, he was a strong support and he was also the first President of the Company. On the other hand, Cyrill Wells and Marcelo Vargas are also remembered. The first for his great commercial vision and the second was a companies´ creator who helped giving solid foundations to this path that crosses the Strait. They were all men that apart from putting their efforts and abilities, prepared their own children to follow their path.