Tsunami-tossed boat spotted off western Canada

[Dennis Olson]

Tsunami-tossed boat spotted off western Canada

Published March 24, 2012 | Associated Press

A large fishing vessel swept away by the tsunami that devastated Japan last year has been spotted adrift off British Columbia in western Canada.

Jeff Olsson of Victoria's Joint rescue coordination center says an airplane contracted by the government spotted the 50-foot-long vessel recently about 160 miles west of Haida Gwaii, slowly drifting toward shore.

The vessel has been identified as coming from Hokkaido, Japan. Olsson says no one is believed to be aboard and there's no environmental danger.

A maritime warning has been issued because the vessel could pose a navigational hazard.

About 5 million tons of debris were swept into the ocean in March 2011 when a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.
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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/24...estern-canada/

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[Bubble Head]

Sounds like a lot of salvage money floating around. 50 foot fishing vessel is worth a real chunk of change even scraped. Don't know what the laws are but if I lived near the coast I would be looking at them. Even recovery and return to the insurance company could prove profitable.

[dragonslayer2001]

what a ghost story THAT would have made 100 years ago.

[vessie]

I saw the pic and it sure doesn't look like a 50 footer, the enclosed flybridge is most likely 7' long x width (beam) of the boat unless it's the size of an outhouse. My boat is a bit longer and it doesn't look as big as that fishing boat.

It looks more like at least 80' to 100'+ feet from bow to stern. I see the anchor chain is down.

But no way is that boat 50' in length, too dinky. V

[Bubble Head]

Vessie, are you saying this could be a 100 footer floating around unmanned? That could give you maybe 16 to 18 foot of width. Thats a lot of tonnage. I could afford the solar system I want and a few other toys with that salvage. Shouldn't Japan be sending out recovery vessles and tie on for a tow into nearest port? I have done that op with the Navy, its not that hard.

[vessie]

Bubble Head, there is no way that thing is a 50 footer. It would absolutely in no way fit in a 50 foot slip at Roche Harbor marina I tell ya! And the beam would be 18+ on that vessel they show the pic of.

It would most likely cost Japan more than the boat is worth to come and fetch it back or tow it into the nearest port. And the paperwork that it would involve also. But we'll see if someone grabs it.

I have to wonder, it being that big whether they find a body or two on board. I hope not but still, unless I need to go to Pearl Vision Center to get my eyes checked, that boat has got to be 80+ feet and I'm being very lenient with my eyeballing the size from that teeny pic that's in the article. V

[Bubble Head]

Vessie, you are right about the cost to Japan and the paper work. I don't know the law about salvage rights on the high seas but you are talking a retirement package floating around without claim. I believe if I had a vessile available to me that could reach and tow it I would make a run. At least I would try to board it.

[Witness]

I'd say that is at least a 100 foot.

Someone should board that ship, the Japanese
are a smart people. There is a remote possibility
they could have survived for a year.

Don't give up on the life of any human.

[vessie]

I agree witness, and my guesstimate is that it's maybe a 125' footer. And there just very well be someone alive onboard and maybe too sick to go topside.

Or maybe sitting in the head in a coma. I don't know why I got that 'imagery' in my mind...

I would love to hear Peetar's opinion on all of this, most definintely as he would be the most expert on this here on the board.

Bubble Head, I kind of remember from years back someone saying something about salvage on the high seas. If it's abandoned, then it's a free for all. But I may have been mistaken on what I heard and of course that would have been at the bar in Bedwell Harbour on Pender Island, BC (Now rediculously renamed, "Poet's Cove" by the builder of that resort. The food sucks by the way...). V

[SIRR1]

I find it amazing this vessel is afloat after a year of tossing about on the open ocean and not getting swamped!

It almost seems like the backup emergency bilge pumps may have been in operation after the tsunami and pumped her dry and may have operated for sometime after the event.

Could the vessel have had an automatic generator that kicked on when the batteries drained down and then charged up the batteries to run the bilge?

The vessel is sitting level a little below the water line so something has kept her afloat all year, hmmm?

I can't really tell from the photo but it looks to me like this vessel may have sometype of bulbous bow possibly the way the nose sweeps forward, double hmmm.

The vessel may not be all that old and imo a great find for the first person to attach a line to her.

Great find Dennis, I love articles like this!

SIRR1

[Satanta]

Well, I'm no boat expert by any means but I cannot see a large boat being allowed to sit around unmanned at the docks-especially if it were a commercial boat.

I also do not see any survivors being on there. The idea someone is laying in a coma in there for a year or even several months is not in the line of reality.

Bodies on board? Possibility but they'd be a mess by now...not sure how decomposition would work out there without ants, roaches and such so they could be skeletal by now, or dessicated mummies or something in-between, liquidy with crunchy stuff sloshing around the gally.

If some Japanses guy or guys were on and alive it seems there would be at least bedsgheets flapping from the highest points signalling for help. If they were loony would one be able to explain to them the war is over?

[LightEcho]

How is it that there were no rescue attempts to find anyone washed out to sea? Missing a boat that size is ridiculous.

Also, I have heard nothing about checking for radioactive debris. Wouldn't we be seeing radioactive water follwing this? They have been pumping millions of gallons of super toxic cocktails into the ocean.

[Oldotaku]

According to the Canadian site the picture above comes from, that boat isn't 50 FEET, its 53 METERS long, or about 160 feet! Even rusting and derelict, that ship is worth some big money, well over $100k. Anyone in the Pacific Northwest with a powerful boat should be out there scooping up free money!

[Satanta]

How is it that there were no rescue attempts to find anyone washed out to sea? Missing a boat that size is ridiculous.

Also, I have heard nothing about checking for radioactive debris. Wouldn't we be seeing radioactive water follwing this? They have been pumping millions of gallons of super toxic cocktails into the ocean.

Do you watch and listen to Japanese TV and radio?

Otherwise how do you know there were no rescue missions or do you expect the U.S, and everyone else to go scour thousands of miles of seas-just in case?

A boat that long is a speck in the vastness of the ocean. It was obviously reported when it was found otherwise we would not be talking about it.

As far as radioactive water? Not likely.

I know some others can give a better answer but I can say for what I recall-water, in itself, will not simply hold or become radioactive. It's the particles in it and those, likely would have sunk by now.

The debris is not going to be radiactive as it went out with the intial Tsunami before the reactors went critical and before any leaks started so it's just a bunch of Japanese garbae floating towards our shores.

[Satanta]

According to the Canadian site the picture above comes from, that boat isn't 50 FEET, its 53 METERS long, or about 160 feet! Even rusting and derelict, that ship is worth some big money, well over $100k. Anyone in the Pacific Northwest with a powerful boat should be out there scooping up free money!

If I was in the PNW I'd already be out there with some campimg gear, food, water and a couple of oars if that's the best I could get in short notice and be paddling that sucker towards dock.

[Bubble Head]

If its around 160 feet long its probably around 30' wide. Could be close to a million FRNs floating around unclaimed. Sat, how far can you swim? This is right down my alley but I live a long way from the PNW. Very dangerous seas. Doubtful for anyone alive. They would have mayday signs out. There is probably fuel oil aboard and a generator may fire up. Might need a couple of batteries to jump it. Floatation can be secured with some salvage ballons and a air compressor.

[LightEcho]

Do you watch and listen to Japanese TV and radio?

Otherwise how do you know there were no rescue missions or do you expect the U.S, and everyone else to go scour thousands of miles of seas-just in case?

A boat that long is a speck in the vastness of the ocean. It was obviously reported when it was found otherwise we would not be talking about it.

As far as radioactive water? Not likely.

I know some others can give a better answer but I can say for what I recall-water, in itself, will not simply hold or become radioactive. It's the particles in it and those, likely would have sunk by now.

The debris is not going to be radiactive as it went out with the intial Tsunami before the reactors went critical and before any leaks started so it's just a bunch of Japanese garbae floating towards our shores.

No- I don't watch Jap TV. Barely watch any Amerikan.

How can a rescue search be of any value when they cannot even find a 100ft boat?

As for radioactive material sinking.... the air has been dense enough to carry it around the world. Sea water has much more density and by mere Brownian motion alone could keep small enough particles suspended.

[Satanta]

No- I don't watch Jap TV. Barely watch any Amerikan.

How can a rescue search be of any value when they cannot even find a 100ft boat?

As for radioactive material sinking.... the air has been dense enough to carry it around the world. Sea water has much more density and by mere Brownian motion alone could keep small enough particles suspended.

That's the thing-how much harder would it to be to find a person than a 100ft boat? Also, without a general search area where do you start?

Airplanes are tracked and have the black boxes but even those searches go for hundreds of miles.

Half of Japan getting washed out to sea-trying to do and continue a search after a year?

Not gonna happen.

Like I said about the radioactive water idea. I'm not an expert, just going by what I seem to have read. It a;so seems all that radioactive materiel was being pumped into the other side-the China Sea? And it was the Koreas, vietnam and China who were in the target zone if anything went wrong.

[Publius]

Someone with a capable fishing boat should go out there and tow it to harbor so it does not get beached.

[Satanta]

Also, are there moral issues is salvaging that ship?

How does Maritime law work?

It was brought up about it belong[e]d to someone else and they might like to have it returned.

I figure it is an insurance deal more than a deal say a housefire, covered by insurance but some valuable item [[say an antique brooch from a grandparent]] found in the ruins years later as to whether it was returned or finders keepers on a moral basis?

[Witness]

There very well might be fuel already aboard.
I would go aboard with the intention of getting
it started and driving it to nearest port. Each
prop is worth well over $10,000.

[Publius]

Also, are there moral issues is salvaging that ship?

How does Maritime law work?

It was brought up about it belong[e]d to someone else and they might like to have it returned.

I figure it is an insurance deal more than a deal say a housefire, covered by insurance but some valuable item [[say an antique brooch from a grandparent]] found in the ruins years later as to whether it was returned or finders keepers on a moral basis?

If anyone lived or alive claimed an insurance policy it was considered a total loss and more than likely no one claimed and it's a free boat for whoever tows it.

[Now-Later]

The boat will probably be claimed by the insurance company.

[Ryan]

It's a surprise that this boat didn't sink during the tsunami.
Maybe it was just the perfect size and style of boat to ride out the waves.


Just a thought...

[Double_A]

No- I don't watch Jap TV. Barely watch any Amerikan.

How can a rescue search be of any value when they cannot even find a 100ft boat?

As for radioactive material sinking.... the air has been dense enough to carry it around the world. Sea water has much more density and by mere Brownian motion alone could keep small enough particles suspended.

I would guess that a variety of sized radioactive particles from a variety of radioactive elements and compounds were released. Plenty of it would sink. Much of the various radioactive compounds released has had many half-lives over the last year and be harmless, others may not. IIRC the stuff that still would be radioactive is considerably more dense and heavy.

[Satanta]

It's a surprise that this boat didn't sink during the tsunami.
Maybe it was just the perfect size and style of boat to ride out the waves.


Just a thought...

Could be-I want one.

Being a fishing boat I'm guessing it has storage tanks like those I've seen on the crab boats on 'Deadliest Catch".

Thinking if they were empty and the hatches sealed it would be like having a big ol' steel balloon floating along so likely would be hard to sink anyway and IIRC ships tend to orient themselves to currents and wave actions because of their shape.

Wheres Boatguy and some of those who have or had lives doing this mojor ship-sized stuff?

[TerryK]

It's a surprise that this boat didn't sink during the tsunami.
Maybe it was just the perfect size and style of boat to ride out the waves.


Just a thought...

The only wave would have been the one that hit while it was in port, if thats where it was.
Out at sea, a tsunami in not noticable. A gradual rising of the sea by a couple of feet and thats it. Hardly noticable.

A ship this size adrift is unusual but during my time in the Navy we ecounted a few smaller ones ranging from 40ft sailboats to 60-70 ft fishing boats. One fairly large fishing boat we found adrift in the Caribbean was pretty spooky. It looked like who ever was onboard was in the middle of dinner. Food was out and some plates were partially eaten. Ships engine was off and no entries that day in the logbook in the pilot house.
There were plastic bags filled with clothes for men, women and children and a lot of blankets and pillows made of rags in almost evrey available floor space.
Engines were still warm, so was the food. Just no people.
We were on a destroyer and were headed to Gitmo. Scuttlebutt was that they were either engaged in drug ops or human trafficking. We radioed it in to Gitmo who contacted the Cuban authorities and we left.

It's not as easy to tow a vessel that large unless you have the right equipment.

As far as not seeing a boat that big at sea, talk to someone sailing accross the ocean in a 30-35 ft sailboat. There are many out there all the time. Unless you are in the shipping lanes you may not see another boat or ship for weeks at a time. The ocean is deserted outside the shipping lanes. It's hard to imagine just how big the ocean is when you're on it with a small boat. Me, all my crossings have been on a ship at least 400ft long and armed with missiles and cannon
Jet planes have spoiled us.

[TerryK]

Hey, what if the holds were half filled with catch??
Might need a gas mask to even get close by now.

[tanstaafl]

For those who want to follow the story:

-----

Coast Guard drops buoy to track tsunami ship

by KGW Staff and AP / NWCN.com
April 4, 2012

ANCHORAGE -- The crew of a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules dropped a data marker buoy next to the Japanese fishing vessel Ryon-un Maru, set adrift after the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

The ship has been identified as coming from Hokkaido, Japan. It is slowly drifting toward Sitka, Alaska, about 170 miles away, at about 1 mph. Currents could change.

Beside boat traffic, another concern is the ship's impact on the maritime environment after floating at sea more than a year.

What's on board is unknown. Also unknown is whether the ship is carrying fuel.

The vessel is believed to be 150 to 200 feet (46 to 61 meters) long, according to Coast Guard spokesman David Mosley.

"Our main concern is maritime traffic," he said. "We're trying to minimize any safety concerns, alerting vessels. We don't want any vessels to run into it."

Officials are studying various options on how to deal with the ship, including scuttling it at sea or towing it to land.

http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=146116...&fDomain=10202

[Housecarl]

Well, if anyone was thinking about claiming salvage on this vessel you'd better hurry....


For links see article source...
Posted for fair use.....
http://news.yahoo.com/us-sink-ghost-...143049127.html

US to sink ghost ship dislodged by Japan tsunami
Associated PressBy MARK THIESSEN and RACHEL D'ORO | Associated Press – 21 mins ago

OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard plans to use cannon fire to sink a derelict Japanese ship dislodged by last year's massive tsunami.

The shrimping vessel, which has no lights or communications systems, was floating about 195 miles south of Sitka in the Gulf of Alaska on Thursday morning, traveling about 1 mile per hour.

The ship holds more than 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel and authorities are concerned it could interfere with the course of other vessels as it drifts through shipping lanes. A Coast Guard cutter was headed out to the ship on Thursday with plans to fire cannons loaded with high explosive rounds to sink the vessel.

If left to drift, the ship would ground somewhere, said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Charley Hengen.

"It's safer to mitigate the risks now before there's an accident or environmental impact," Hengen said.

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 Coast Guard will warn other ships to avoid the area, and will observe from an HC-130 Hercules airplane.

The vessel, named Ryou-Un Maru, is believed to be 150 to 200 feet long. It has been adrift from Hokkaido, Japan, since it was launched by the tsunami caused by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that struck Japan last year. 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.

___

D'Oro reported from Anchorage, Alaska.

[Haybails]

I'm not trying to be crude, but, do any slueths have any photos of the ship DURING the Tsunami?


HB

[FarmerJohn]

IIRC, maritime law states that if you find/salvage an unoccupied floating vessel, it is yours.

Canadian fishing boat claims salvage rights to Japanese ghost ship

By Mark Thiessen and Rachel D’Oro, Thursday, April 5, 5:28 PM

OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA — A Canadian fishing vessel on Thursday claimed salvage rights to the Japanese ghost ship that was dislodged and set adrift by last year’s tsunami, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Spokesman Paul Webb said the Coast Guard will hold off on its planned sinking of the abandoned 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru until the 62-foot Bernice C arrives.

Webb said that if the Canadians are unable to tow the ship, the Coast Guard will sink it as planned.

“It’s a strange twist, but that’s how things go,” Webb said.

The Japanese ship, which has no lights or communications system, has a tank that could carry more than 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel, but officials don’t know how much, if any, is aboard.

Either way, the government says the move is safer environmentally than letting the ship continue to drift.

“It’s less risky than it would be running into shore or running into” maritime traffic, Webb said.

The vessel had been destined for scrapping when the Japan earthquake struck, so there is no cargo aboard. Webb said it’s likely that there is little or no fuel on it because the ship has been traveling high in the water, indicating a light ballast.

Webb said he doesn’t know who owns the Ryou-Un Maru, which has been traveling about 1 mph recently.

A Coast Guard cutter was at the location of the ghost ship Thursday with plans to fire cannons loaded with high explosive rounds to sink the vessel in calm seas and clear weather. Webb said the cutter would 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 will monitor the operation and will warn other ships to avoid the area.

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 that was 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.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...m_politics_pop

[marsh]

I don't know, it seems sort of an insult to her spirit to sink her after she survived the disaster and made the journey all the way across the sea.

[Red Baron]

Are there any "other" reasons to sink the ghost ship?

Maybe it is radioactive?

I wonder because they said it had 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel in it and it appears they are making no effort to remove the fuel.

[Chapulin]

Local news says a 60 ish ft Canadian fishing boat is trying to salvage it. The Coast Guard will watch, if it can't tow the abandoned ship, the Coast Guard will fire on the first Japanese boat in how many years and sink it, about 1000 gallons of fuel on board is expected to evaporate on the open seas.

Chap

[tanstaafl]

"The vessel had been destined for scrapping when the Japan earthquake struck, so there is no cargo aboard. Webb said it’s likely that there is little or no fuel on it because the ship has been traveling high in the water, indicating a light ballast."

Of course, you may decide you'd rather believe that people are lying about it. Whatever fits best into your worldview, I suppose.

[Publius]

Who knows if they board it they just may be able get it started bring to port under its own power.

[SIRR1]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The Coast Guard opened fire on Thursday on a derelict Japanese fishing vessel washed out to sea by last year's devastating tsunami in a bid to sink it and eliminate a threat to navigation, a spokesman for the agency said.

The Coast Guard, which hopes to send the ship to the ocean floor, fired on the vessel with a 25mm machine gun, said Petty Officer First Class David Mosley, a spokesman for the Coast Guard.

At last report the vessel was on fire and listing in the sea, as the cutter crew took a break to evaluate progress of the operation, Mosley said.

Plans to sink the fuel-laden ship had earlier been put briefly on hold because a fishing vessel was nearby.

The captain of that vessel, the Bernice, had expressed an interest in salvaging the abandoned Japanese ship, but once on the scene the captain decided it was not safe to salvage or tow it, the Coast Guard said.

The ship's Japanese owner has also said it has no plans to salvage the vessel. The Ryou-Un Maru, nicknamed a "ghost ship" for its abandoned state, is among the 1.5 million tons of debris the Japanese government estimates was dragged out to sea by last year's tsunami, said Ben Sherman, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"This boat, in this case, we know was at a particular pier, and before the tsunami it was there and after the tsunami it wasn't," Sherman said.

Experts from NOAA and other agencies determined that sinking the ship was the best way to manage the potentially dangerous fuel on board, Sherman said. "They anticipate that it'll dissipate or evaporate very quickly," he said.

Although most of the tsunami debris expected to hit U.S. coastlines is predicted to arrive in 2013 or later, some items have already washed ashore. In Alaska, most of the marine debris identified as tsunami-related has been buoys and floats from oyster farms.

The Ryou-Un Maru, carrying up to 2,100 gallons of diesel fuel, was about 170 nautical miles southwest of the Alaskan town of Sitka and has been drifting toward busy navigational lanes used by cargo vessels plying the waters of the Great Circle route between North America and Asia, said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow.

The Great Circle arcs from the West Coast to east Asia, passing through the Aleutian Islands.

The ship was initially spotted by Canadian officials in waters off the coast of British Columbia, Wadlow said. It drifted into U.S. waters on Saturday, and the Coast Guard began its close monitoring of the vessel.

The ship lacks lights, making it a dangerous obstacle at night, Wadlow said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46970493

[SIRR1]

Fiery end for tsunami 'ghost ship'

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter in the Gulf of Alaska unleashed cannon fire on the abandoned Japanese shrimping vessel on Thursday, ending a journey that began when last year's tsunami dislodged it and set it adrift across the Pacific Ocean. It sank about 180 miles west of the southeast Alaska coast.

15 photos at link.

Now that I have seen a close up picture of the ship I would have to say no to a salvage operation...What a POS!

SIRR1

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tsunami...060459474.html