A Japanese fishing vessel which drifted away during the tsunami in Japan sometime in 2011 and ended up near the Canadian coast in march ,2012 has now been sunk by the United States Coast Guards.
News report recently reported that a Japanese fishing vessel, "Ryou-Un Maru" which had been swept away by the tsunami which engulfed the east coast of Japan in March 2011 had been spotted adrift off the west coast of Canada.
The vessel had now drifted into the Gulf of Alaska, just over 240 km from land, and was posing a significant risk as it drifted into the shipping lanes.
The video, courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard shows them opening fire on the Japanese "ghost ship" in an attempt to sink the vessel, which could eventually have interfered with other ships.
The ship was more than 60 meters long and posed a significant risk to marine traffic.
In the video the Coast Guard cutter, "Anacapa" fires on the Japanese vessel. The initial salvo of 25mm explosive rounds set the ship alight, and it began to take on water and started to list slightly. A column of black smoke rose into the air.
Later in the afternoon, a second salvo was fired and 4 hours later the ship disappeared under the waves.
The operation was monitored by the Coast Guard C-130 plane crew.
Environmentalists have been concerned that the sinking of this vessel could cause serious environmental pollution, as apparently the ship had as much as 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard. However, according to Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Atministration, any oil that does leak from the ship will be broken up and dispersed by the wind and waves before reaching the shore.
The Ryou-Un Maru originated from Hokkaido, Japan and has been drifting since the tsunami caused by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake his Japan 2011.
Japanese Coast Guard spokesman Masahiro Ichijou said the vessel belonged to a fishing company in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. It had been used for squid fishing before being put up for sale because of it’s advanced age. It has no lights or communication systems. Coast Guard officials decided to sink the ship amid fears that it could disrupt traffic as it drifted through shipping lanes or spill fuel from its 2,000 gallon tank should it run aground.
“It’s safer to mitigate the risks now before there’s an accident or environmental impact,” Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Charley Hengen told The Associated Press
The decision came after a review by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency determined the best course of action would be to sink the ship with cannons and let any fuel evaporate in the open water.
About 5 million tons of debris were swept into the ocean by the tsunami, which also triggered a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant. Alaska state health and environmental officials have said there’s little chance that debris landing on Alaska shores will be contaminated by radiation from the disaster.
*Digital Journal
*Associated Press
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