Japanese Tsunami 'Ghost Ship' To Be Sunk Off Alaska by USCG

The United States Coast Guard had come to the decision to sink the drifting Japanese fishing vessel that has been haunting Alaska’s coast recently. The ship was washed out to sea by the 2011 Japanese tsunami. The Ryou-Un Maru is now about 195 miles southwest of Sitka, Alaska.

The coast guard feels that the 200-foot ship is a danger to other ships. It has no lights, power or crew onboard; and is also believed to be the first of a flow of tsunami debris headed to U.S. waters.

BBC reports that ahead of the operation to sink the ship, the Anacapa gunnery ship of the 17th US Coast Guard began shadowing the ghost ship on Wednesday afternoon. The stricken vessel is moving at about 1km/h in a maritime transport corridor that separates US and Canadian waters.

Maritime traffic is clearly the main concern in this operation. Vessels are being alerted of the presence of the ghost ship, so they don’t collide with it. The ‘ghost ship’ has been deemed a threat to the maritime industry as it heads for busy shipping lanes.

The gunnery ship will use a 25mm cannon on board the Anacapa to scuttle the ghost ship. According to BBC, a Hercules C-130 air crew will participate in the operation and will broadcast to mariners and air traffic first, alerting them to clear the surrounding area before the demolition of the ship begins. It would be too expensive to try to salvage the ship, and too dangerous to put anyone on board.

The ship will sink with about 2,113 gallons of diesel on board, but the vessel is far enough from the nearest coastline that any spillage would dissolve naturally. The shrimping boat has been traced to the Japanese island of Hokkaido where the boat's owner had been identified, but the owner did not want the vessel back.

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