Tsunami Ghost Ship Spotted Off British Columbia

More than a year after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, a Japanese fishing boat has been found drifting aimlessly off the coast of British Columbia.

The beat up 150-foot trawler was spotted on March 20 by an aircraft while on a routine patrol approximately 150 nautical miles from the southern coast of Canada’s Haida Gwaii islands, drifting south.

Officials have traced the boat to a squid fishing company in Japan, who had confirmed no one was believed to be on the vessel when the tsunami struck.

NOAA, among other organizations, have been warning that marine debris generated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 would be making its way across the Pacific, posing navigational hazards to vessels and threatening coastlines, but what, when, and where the debris is expected to wash up has been difficult to predict.

For more information on tracing marine debris from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami check out this video below and read gCaptain’s coverage on Tracking Marine Debris from the Japanese Tsunami.

–gCaptain

This satellite view shows smoke rising from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant on Monday after a second explosion blew the roof off of a containment building. Critical cooling systems have failed at three of the facility’s reactors, exposing fuel and increasing the risk of a meltdown. –Satellite photograph from DigitalGlobe/Getty Images

Japan Battles to Avert Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

At its epicenter, the earthquake exceeded Fukushima Daiichi’s design strength. National Geographic Daily News

morningsuicide:

producermatthew:

A girl who has been isolated at a makeshift facility to screen, cleanse and isolate people with high radiation levels, looks at her dog through a window in Nihonmatsu, northern Japan, March 14, 2011. (Reuters)

(via coldisthesea)

A vehicle is half submerged at a crossroad in Sendai, northeastern Japan, March 12. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters) #

Cracks are seen on the snow-covered ground in woodlands near the earthquake and tsunami-devastated town of Sendai March 12. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters) #

Boston.com; The Big Picture

A vessel sits after it was washed away by tsunami into urban area in Kesennuma, Miyagi, northern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) #

Cargo containers are strewn about in Sendai Japan March 12

Boston.com; The Big Picture

A man holding a dog walks on a street in Kesennuma city, Miyagi prefecture on March 12. (AFP/Getty Images)

Boston.com; The Big Picture

A fishing boat rests surrounded by debris in the city of Kamaishi in Iwate prefecture on March 12. (Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP/Getty Images)

Boston.com; The Big Picture

Working Dogs

coldisthesea:

110313-N-ZI955-023 NAVAL AIR FACILITY MISAWA, Japan (March 13, 2011) Staff Sgt. Travis Lausier, right, and Spc. Jason Hayes, both assigned to the Japan District Veterinary Command, Misawa Branch, draw blood from “Lago,” while his handler, Tim Dinges, comforts him. Dinges and Lago are with Virginia Task Force 1 of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, and arrived at Misawa Air Base to take part in search and rescue efforts in Sendai, Japan.

U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford/Released

(via coldisthesea)

coldisthesea:

“A ferry ended up stranded atop a building in Otsuchi.” (NYT) Yomiuri, via Associated Press

coldisthesea:

“The government ordered 100,000 troops into relief roles in the field — nearly half the country’s active military force and the largest mobilization in postwar Japan.  Soldiers recovered a victim’s body in Rikuzentakata.”

Credit: Toru Hanai/Reuters

(via coldisthesea)

coldisthesea:

110311-N-4743B-473 SEPANGAR, Malaysia (March 11, 2001)

Sailors assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) and Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) return to the ship at Sepangar Naval Base to ensure the ship and crew are ready if directed to support earthquake and tsunami relief operations in Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Adam M. Bennett\Released)

(via coldisthesea)

coldisthesea:

Fishing boats and vehicles were carried ashore at Onahama port in Iwaki city.

life:

The largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history rocked Japan on Friday, March 11, 20011, shaking cities and villages along a 1,300-mile stretch of coastline with terrifying tremors felt as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicenter. The quake killed at least 60 people and unleashed a monster 30-foot-high tsunami that sent ships crashing into shore, wiped away homes, and carried cars through the streets of towns. Tsunami warnings were issued for the entire Pacific, including Hawaii, South America, Canada, Alaska and the whole West Coast of the United States.

Massive Japan Earthquake: The First Photos

(via mudwerks)