Lt. Veronica Colbath said. This time, the Coast Guard used 50 mm shells.
"Did we give up when the Germans attacked Dutch Harbor?"
Posted on 04/05/2012 6:34:25 PM PDT by matt1234
The U.S. Coast Guard unleashed cannon fire Thursday at a Japanese vessel set adrift by last year's tsunami, stopping the ship's long, lonely voyage across the Pacific Ocean.
A Coast Guard cutter fired on the abandoned 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska and more than 150 miles from land, spokesman Paul Webb said.
Soon after the cannon fire started, the ship burst into flames, began to take on water and list, Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow said.
About two hours later, the vessel hadn't sunk and the cutter resumed shelling, Lt. Veronica Colbath said.
The vessel poses a significant hazard and the Coast Guard has been warning mariners to stay away, Wadlow said. Aviation authorities are also advising pilots to steer clear of the area.
Officials decided to sink the ship rather than risk the chance of it running aground or endangering other vessels.
(Excerpt) Read more at mynorthwest.com ...
We should’ve towed it back to Iron Bottom Sound off Guadalcanal.
It looks a bit rusty, but I wonder why they didn’t board, tow, and salvage it?
At the least, it’s quite a bit of scrap metal.
>It looks a bit rusty, but I wonder why they didn’t board, tow, and salvage it?
Because salvage makes sense.
Cost of salvage towing (manpower, fuel, etc) probably far exceeds scrap value.
“About two hours later, the vessel hadn’t sunk and the cutter resumed shelling, Lt. Veronica Colbath said. “
Why can’t the coast guard sink an abandoned vessel? Should we be concerned about this?
Article says a Canadian ship attempted salvage but was unsuccessful.
This may be a stupid question, but do we know whether or not there are human remains onboard?
Granted, they would be close to 90 years old by now but in tropical climes, they are probably still in reasonably good health. My advice is to stay away from those islands because if they saw some Americans walking around, they would probably be pissed. Especially if they were attired in tourist garb, like Hawaiian shirts, Bermuda shorts and deck shoes.
I was troubled by that, too. Sounds like the gunners need the practice. I bet it was fun.
They should have waited another week before trying to sink this ship.
Valid question. A boarding party should have searched the vessel before sinking her. Not sure if that was done.
The vessel was waiting to be scraped when it was in Japan.
I did see a video clip of what looked like a USCG RHIB alongside for inspection.
Who you gonna call?
And once the search was done they could have placed a shaped charge that would have blown a nice hole in it for a lot less money than a bunch of artillery shells.
"Did we give up when the Germans attacked Dutch Harbor?"
I thought that would be a fun thing to own if you had the resources and knowhow to navigate and maintain it. Immediately thought houseboat.
If explosives are AN option then explosives are THE answer.
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