(5 Apr 2012) QUALITY AS INCOMING
April 4 2012
1. Wide aerial view of abandoned Japanese fishing vessel in Gulf of Alaska
2. Mid of US Coast Guard member deploying data marker buoy to help track ship, ship becomes visible in background
31 March 2012
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3. Close of US Coast Guard member deploying tracking buoy
4. Pull out to show nearby derelict ship
5. Zoom in to ship
6. Wide of ship
STORYLINE:
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 says the Coast Guard will hold off on its planned sinking of the abandoned 164-foot (50-metre) Ryou-Un Maru until the 62-foot (19-metre) Bernice C arrives.
The Japanese ship, which has no lights or communications system, has a tank that could carry more than 2,000 gallons (7,500 litres) 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.
The vessel had been destined for scrapping when the Japan earthquake struck, so there is no cargo on board, according to Webb.
He said it's likely there is little or no fuel on board because the ship has been travelling high in the water, indicating a light ballast.
Webb said he doesn't know who owns the Ryou-Un Maru, which has been travelling about 1 mile per hour (1.6 kph) in the past days.
A Coast Guard cutter was at the location of the ghost ship on Thursday with plans to fire cannons loaded with high explosive rounds to sink the vessel in calm seas and clear weather.
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.
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 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 five (m) million tons of debris were swept into the ocean by the tsunami.
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.
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