Abandoned Tsunami Ghost Ship Sinks off Alaskan Coast

The long voyage of the fuel-laden Japanese ghost ship is over as it sank 6,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Alaska on 5 April, 2012. The ghost ship is reportedly one of the 1.5 million tonnes of debris the Japanese government estimates was dragged out to sea during the 2011 Tsunami. The ship was believed to have been carrying more than 9,000 litres of diesel fuel and was sunk by the region’s Coast Guards180 miles west of the Southeast Alaskan coast. The open firing was carried out to eliminate any threat to navigation in the area. The Ryou-Un Maru reportedly stayed afloat for a number of hours before ultimately sinking.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa crew douses the adrift Japanese vessel “Ryou-Un Maru” with water after a gunnery exercise, 180 miles (about 290 km) west of the Southeast Alaskan coast April 5, 2012. (Reuters)

The Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru. (Reuters)

The unmanned Japanese fishing vessel, Ryou-un Maru, drifts northwest approximately 164 miles southwest of Baranof Island, in the Gulf of Alaska, in this U.S. Coast Guard handout photo from April 4, 2012. (Reuters)

Japanese fishing vessel “Ryou-Un Maru” burns after U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa crew fired explosive ammunition at the vessel, 180 miles (about 290 km) west of the Southeast Alaskan coast April 5, 2012. (Reuters)