UPDATED: The U.S. Coast Guard has had to delay sinking the "ghost ship" because a Canadian fishing vessel has reportedly claimed the vessel on salvage rights.
More to come.
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The U.S. Coast Guard intends to sink the so-called Japanese "ghost ship" that was first spotted adrift off the B.C. coast last month, CBC News has learned.
The derelict vessel was ripped from its moorings during the March 2011 tsunami in northern Japan.
The plan calls for a coast guard ship to come alongside Thursday morning and blast holes in the ship's hull with a 25-millimetre cannon.
The unmanned 54-metre vessel is now being carried north on ocean currents toward Alaska and is considered a potential hazard to shipping.
The ship, which was first spotted March 23 about 220 kilometres off Haida Gwaii, B.C., is believed to be at the leading edge of a field of debris weighing millions of tonnes and expected to hit the West Coast starting later this year and through 2013.
The debris was picked up and carried out to sea by the massive waves and swells that swept ashore March 11, 2011, after a powerful earthquake off the Japanese coast.
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UPDATED: The U.S. Coast Guard has had to delay sinking the "ghost ship" because a Canadian fishing vessel has reportedly claimed the vessel on salvage rights.
More to come.
------
...
UPDATED: The U.S. Coast Guard has had to delay sinking the "ghost ship" because a Canadian fishing vessel has reportedly claimed the vessel on salvage rights.
More to come.
------
...
Why just have tha US Coast Guard just shot at it with 25mm Cannon. If is such a danger why not call for a B2 stealth bomber and hit it with a surgical nuclear smart bomb.
nightfly4257: Why just have tha US Coast Guard just shot at
Why didnt anyone suggest it to be used as an artificial reef AND a memorial for tsunami victims. The drain all chemicals, clean the ship and sink it where marine life and divers can both enjoy it.
Shooting seems so "American"
Snaaaack: Why didnt anyone suggest it to be used as an
Thanks - good info. It's interesting that owners of property could potentially abandon their ownership rights while potentially inflicting environmental damage and causing clean-up or destruction costs (although I suspect the Navy doesn't cost out each shell)
huffffnpuffff: Thanks - good info. It's interesting that owners of property
I'm glad that (as reported today) someone has claimed salvage rights on it.
Simply sinking it is ridiculous for any number of reasons. Pollution from all the different fuels and the possibility of it being cut up and recycled to name but two.
There is also the possibility of human remains being aboard.
deruo: I'm glad that (as reported today) someone has claimed salvage
Lots of people would love to have it but they are not the people who could afford to tow it in then pay berth space for it. Bring it in and I'll live on it. Guaranteed it has no major leaks.
old_guys_rule: Lots of people would love to have it but they
Tow it into port and sell if for scrap....for crying out loud people are electrocuting themselves trying to steel copper wire and rooftop hvac systems, a ship like that has to be worth a lot of money in scrap.
Well__Armed__Lamb: Why sink it? Tow it into port and sell if
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Posted: 04/ 4/2012 9:13 pm Updated: 04/ 5/2012 4:01 pm