The U.S. Coast Guard unleashed cannon fire Thursday at a Japanese vessel set adrift by last year’s tsunami, stopping the ship’s long, lonely voyage across the Pacific Ocean.
A Coast Guard cutter fired on the abandoned 164-foot (50-meter) Ryou-Un Maru in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska and more than 150 miles (240 kilometres) from land, spokesman Paul Webb said.
Soon after the 25 mm cannon fire started, the ship burst into flames, began to take on water and list, Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow said. A huge spiral of smoke could be seen over the gulf.
About two hours later, the vessel hadn’t sunk and the cutter resumed shelling, Lt. Veronica Colbath said. This time, the Coast Guard used 50 mm shells.
The vessel poses a significant hazard and the Coast Guard has been warning mariners to stay away, Wadlow said. Aviation authorities are also advising pilots to steer clear of the area.
Officials decided to sink the ship rather than risk the chance of it running aground or endangering other vessels. The ship has no lights or communications system and has a tank that could carry more than 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of diesel fuel.
They don’t know how much fuel, if any, is aboard. “It’s less risky than it would be running into shore or running into (maritime) traffic,” Webb said.
The ship had been destined for scrapping when the Japan earthquake struck, so there is no cargo on board, according to Webb. He said he doesn’t know who owns the Ryou-Un Maru, which has been travelling about 1 mile per hour in the past days.
Earlier, Webb said the cutter was going to fire the cannons from several hundred feet away. The goal is to punch holes in the Ryou-Un Maru and sink it. A Coast Guard C-130 plane crew was monitoring the operation.
A Canadian fishing vessel, the 62-foot (19-meter) Bernice C, claimed salvage rights over the ghost ship. The Coast Guard stopped their plans to fire so the Canadian crew could have a chance to take the stricken ship.
A Canadian official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that the Bernice C was unable to tow the abandoned ship.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency studied the problem and decided it is safer to sink the ship and let the fuel evaporate in the open water.
The vessel has been adrift from Hokkaido, Japan, since it was launched by the tsunami caused by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011. About 5 million tons of debris were swept into the ocean by the tsunami.
The Japan earthquake triggered the world’s worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, but Alaska state health and environmental officials have said there’s little need to be worried that debris landing on Alaska shores will be contaminated by radiation.
They have been working with federal counterparts to gauge the danger of debris including material affected by a damaged nuclear power plant, to see if Alaska residents, seafood or wild game could be affected.
In January, a half dozen large buoys suspected to be from Japanese oyster farms appeared at the top of Alaska’s panhandle and may be among the first debris from the tsunami.
Keywords: U.S. Coast Guard, Japanese vessel, Japan tsunami, adrift ship
I feel that the proper decision was made and carried-out. A vessel of that size, floating aimlessly, provided a danger to others, as well
as coming ashore and damaging the ecology. Another ship attempted to salvage it, but could not. My only concern is the fuel on board, and I hope that it disperses without harm.
They could have towed it to land and displayed it as a victim of nature's wrath. Would have attracted many a visitor. No, not at all. They only know to start wars, ruin countries, drop bombs,loot oil and sink ships.
With that comes a huge price tag for our well being and of our future generations. The Arctic: Perhaps the biggest concern and financial question to people in Norway and Russia, as well as the rest of the world, is what to do with the rest of the Russian submarine fleet. So far, Russia has saved an undisclosed amount of money by dumping the waste instead of having to build and operate expensive storage and recycle facilities.The Northern Fleet operates more than 200 nuclear
propulsion reactors in its ballistic missile and attack submarines.
60 old decommissioned nuclear subs are standing idle in Russian
harbors, and 14 must be scrapped by 1998 (at the cost of about
100 million rubles -- $1 million in May 1992) in accordance with
the START II nuclear disarmament treaty.Nuclear reactors from at least 18 nuclear submarines and icebreakers were dumped into arctic,one entire n-sub sunk deliberately after an accident. And these are the people giving us Chakras and Kudankulams.Sudarshans!
Wouldn't it be worth salvaging it like the Canadian fishing trawler wanted to? Also, with growing oil prizes, the USCG could have allowed the trawler (or themselves) to use the 2000 gallons of fuel. Anyways, little Nemo will have a toy boat to play!
I dont see any reason to destroy a ship which covered landmark
journey....What was the fear and risk associated with ir?...Why dont we
care for nature before taking such action how so ever small it is?
For some reason, this story reminded me of Voyager I & II probes - two
unmanned missions into space that have well gone past their intended
destinations.
This actually got me thinking - what if somebody fitted a few cameras
on a smaller vessel (that could upturn itself if capsized) sailing on
its own. And perhaps 25 years later, we go over the images captured by
it during its' epic journey. Pictures of storms, aquatic beings, night
skies... We'd be surprised I'm sure!
Frankly, I feel a little sad that something that has survived so much
had to be destroyed in such a way.
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