he herald of 1.5 million tonnes of debris left in the wake of last March’s Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami has shifted course, abandoning Canadian waters for the time being, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
An RCAF aircraft initially spotted the 50-metre Japanese ‘ghost ship’ about 260 kilometres off the southern tip of Haida Gwaii. On Saturday morning, it passed the U.S.-Canadian border near the Dixon Entrance, a stretch of sea off the shores of Prince Rupert, B.C., said Petty Officer First Class David Mosley.
“We flew one of our … Hercules aircraft to the vessel and we dropped a buoy on the vessel to monitor its position (Saturday afternoon),” he said. “All we know is it’s tracking north. We’ll continue to track it and continue to follow its path.”
Mosley said if the squid trawler remains on course, it would eventually reach Sitka, Alaska. He said it’s unclear how long that would take, however, as the ship’s speed is dependent on currents and wind.
The ship could be a problem for ocean traffic if it remains in Dixon Entrance, Mosley said. Authorities on both sides of the border, meanwhile, have not yet decided to act beyond a “monitoring” approach.
“We’ve got cargo ships, fuel tankers and in the summertime there’s a lot of cruise ships in (the Dixon Entrance) area, so we’re very mindful how this vessel could impact maritime traffic,” Mosley said.
Canadian officials estimate the ship is still about 350 kilometres off the shore of mainland B.C., according to data recorded Saturday.
“The Government of Canada is monitoring the derelict vessel and the departments are working together on a co-ordinated plan to deal with the Japanese fishing vessel as it approaches our shoreline,” said Sau Sau Lin, a Transport Canada spokeswoman, in a statement.
“There is no immediate threat to public or environmental safety.”
According to Patrick Cummins, a Canadian research expert of ocean currents, the ship is merely the head of the beast.
“It is slow, it is steady, but all the debris that remains afloat from that cataclysmic event is slowly making its way to the Pacific Northwest,” he told QMI Agency.
“Some oceanographers estimate the debris field is 3,700 kilometres long and 1,800 kilometres wide, but we have no concrete figures because of the sheer spread.”
According to ocean researchers in Hawaii, the rest of the debris could reach Canadian shores by early 2013.
Toronto Sun
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