Environment

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The Coast Guard is watching for fuel and debris from a derelict Japanese fishing vessel it sank off the coast of Southeast Alaska on Thursday.

Kip Wadlow of the agency’s public affairs office says nothing of significance has been found so far. A small sheen was spotted Thursday, but was expected to dissipate quickly.

Wadlow says the Petersburg-based cutter Anacapa began firing at approximately 1 p.m. Thursday.

The Ryou-Un Maru went down at 6:15 p.m. in about 6,000 feet of water.

“When the ship started to sink, the starboard quarter, or the right-back side, went in the water first. And then the ship just slowly rolled over and sank,” Wadlow says.

The approximately 200-foot vessel was washed out to sea by last year’s Japanese tsunami. It crossed the Pacific Ocean without crew or power, then drifted up the coast of British Columbia into Alaska waters.

Wadlow says the Coast Guard fired 440 rounds of explosive ordinance at the ship’s waterline.

“The reason why we decided to sink this vessel is that it posed a safety threat to mariners and maritime shipping that travel the sea lanes off of Southeast Alaska,” he says.

Firing was delayed when a fishing boat captain expressed interest in salvaging the ship. He decided against the idea after getting a closer look.

The Ryou-Un Maru caught on fire after the first round of shelling. Wadlow says the Anacapa’s crew put it out by shooting a stream of water from their vessel.

“There was a significant smoke plume and we didn’t want to worry any mariners in the area thinking that there might be a vessel on fire and people in danger,” he says.

The Japanese ship was about 180 miles west of Sitka when it sank.

It’s not clear what hazardous materials were on board. The Coast Guard does not believe the ship contained any radiation.

An agency C-130 aircraft is flying a grid over the area to check for oil or debris.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday will attempt to sink a Japanese fishing vessel that washed out to sea after last year’s tsunami.

The cutter Anacapa Wednesday night arrived on the scene of the drifting Ryou-Un Maru, now about 170-miles southwest of Sitka.

“They have some mounted weapons on board so they will fire the weapons into the vessel and try to hole it sufficiently to sink it,” says Lt. Sarah Morin, command duty officer for the Coast Guard’s 17th District headquartered in Juneau.

After being spotted in Canadian waters last month, the Ryou-Un Maru has been drifting in a northerly direction. It entered U.S. waters on Saturday.

“They are scuttling it now instead of waiting because there is concern for pollution and increased hazard to navigation if it comes closer to shore,” Morin says.

The ocean is about 3,600 feet deep in that location. Morin says any diesel fuel remaining on-board the drifting vessel would likely dissipate quickly.

“Having a diesel spill out at sea, where there’s significant wave and wind action to dissipate it quickly, is significantly less damaging to the environment than having a diesel spill drift into inside waters here in Southeast Alaska, or into any of the harbors,” she says. “A confined spill there could have a more significant impact on the environment and the wildlife.”

It’s unclear exactly how much fuel there is on board.

Morin says the owner has surrendered the vessel and the Japanese government has consented to the sinking.

“The U.S. Coast Guard communicated extensively with the Canadian Coast Guard when this was in the border waters and once it was firmly established in our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), the U.S. Coast Guard coordinated with the Japanese government before making the decision to sink the vessel,” she says.

According to the website GlobalSecurity.org as well as information from the Coast Guard and contractor Bollinger Shipyards, most variants of the 110-foot Island class cutter are usually equipped with a 25-millimeter machine gun mounted in the bow and at least two .50 caliber machine guns.

The cutter Anacapa is based out of Petersburg.

The Coast Guard is continuing to track that fishing boat that was cast out to sea from last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Chief Petty Officer Janelle Webster at the command center in Juneau says the derelict vessel is now about 170 miles west of Dall Island, or the southwest corner of Prince of Wales Island. Webster says a C-130 aircraft did an overflight Saturday and Monday. Another flight may be conducted Tuesday to check on the condition of the vessel, named the Ryou-un Maru and believed between 150- and 180-feet long.

A notice to mariners has been issued for any other traffic in the area to be aware of the unmanned ghost ship which has no operating lights.

Video of data marker buoy drop near the Ryou-un Maru

Debris from the tsunami, such as oyster buoys, have already been reported ashore along the southern coast of Alaska. So far, this is the first and only ship that’s been spotted cast adrift across the Pacific Ocean.

Written comments are due today (Friday) on the draft Eaglecrest Master Plan.

The public comments will be considered as consultants finalize the plan that’s intended to guide the board of directors – with its changing membership — over the next 20 years.

The plan has been in the works since last year – and it includes public input from a focus group, a borough-wide telephone survey, an Internet survey, two public meetings and written comments.

Wayne Stevens chairs the seven-member board.

“I think the board has been very clear in trying to get as broad a perspective of the community before we try to make decisions on where we’re going,” Stevens said at Wednesday’s final public meeting on the plan.

Because Eaglecrest is owned and operated by the city and borough of Juneau, Stevens says the board has to be cognizant of all the interests in the facility. But the board also answers to the Juneau Assembly, which approves an annual subsidy.

He says the board has set the goal of 70 percent cost recovery for the ski area.

“Recognizing that the libraries, the pools, ice rink don’t reach that level, it’s still important to do that,” he says. “We have a lot of ideas presented (in the plan) and we certainly are looking forward to the opportunity to discuss those further and make sure that we truly build a community facility that enhances the ability of all citizens to use the facility on a year-around basis, recognizing that it is a winter sports facility.”

Once the final master plan is in place, the board will present it to the city Assembly.

Click here to make last minute written comments on the plan.

Greenhouse clean-up and preparation is the subject in this week’s chat with Master Gardener Ed Buyarski.

Eaglecrest should offer luge sledding – that’s one of a handful of suggestions made on the draft ski area master plan at Wednesday’s public comment session.

Juneau luge enthusiast Doug Sanvik told consultants and board members that some ski areas are finding luge courses to be revenue generators.

“I’m trying to generate interest in a sport that will increase the use by appealing to a wider segment of the Juneau population,” Sanvik said. “It lends itself easily to night operations, needs absolutely no infrastructure other than a packed (snow) surface, minimal training to participate in the sport, safer than terrain parks and jumps.

Sanvik cites Blue Mountain Ski Area in Pennsylvania and another area in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada where luge has become popular. He says he’s been in contact with the director of USA Luge, at Lake Placid, New York, who would help Eaglecrest get started.

He brought two entry-level red and black sleds that he uses for luge sledding, and says all that’s needed is a path free of obstacles. He recommends a run off the Porcupine lift beginners’ area, toward the tubing hill, which is no longer in use. That’s where he’s been sledding this season after Eaglecrest is closed for the day.

Sanvik asked that his luge suggestion be part of the Eaglecrest master plan, which consultants are finishing up.