US To Blow Up And Sink Japanese Radioactive Debris

Nobody's ever going to mention radiation levels and why vessels like this aren't salvaged.

U.S. to sink Japanese ship swept away by tsunami

(AP) OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA - "The U.S. Coast Guard plans to use cannon fire to sink a derelict Japanese ship dislodged by last year's massive tsunami.

The shrimping vessel, which has no lights or communications systems, was floating about 195 miles south of Sitka in the Gulf of Alaska on Thursday morning, traveling about 1 mile per hour.

The ship holds more than 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel and authorities are concerned it could interfere with the course of other vessels as it drifts through shipping lanes. A Coast Guard cutter was headed out to the ship on Thursday with plans to fire cannons loaded with high explosive rounds to sink the vessel.

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If left to drift, the ship would ground somewhere, said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Charley Hengen.

"It's safer to mitigate the risks now before there's an accident or environmental impact," Hengen said.

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."