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Coast Guard Fires on Japanese Tsunami 'Ghost Ship'

By Miguel Llanos

Credit: U.S. Coast Guard

Coast Guard Fires on Japanese Tsunami 'Ghost Ship'

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    GULF OF ALASKA - The unmanned Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-un Maru dirfts northwest approximatley 164 miles southwest of Baranof Island April 4, 2012. The Coast Guard is monitoring the vessel, which is currently considered a hazard to navigation, and working with stateholders to determine the best way to respond to the vessel's presence in U.S. waters.

    (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis)

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April 5, 2012 Updated Apr 6, 2012 at 10:35 AM PDT

(msnbc.com) A U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired its 25mm cannon at a derelict Japanese fishing vessel on Thursday, aiming to sink what it called a threat to shipping.

Citing a Coast Guard spokesman, the Associated Press reported the firing began after a brief delay caused by a Canadian ship that wanted to salvage the Ryou-un Maru -- but then quickly found it wasn't able to tow it back to shore.

Set adrift by Japan's 2011 tsunami and now less than 200 miles off Alaska, the fishing vessel was being fired on by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa.

Besides clearing a shipping lane, sinking the nearly 200-foot-long vessel provides the Anacapa crew "a great way for them to put their skills to use," Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow told msnbc.com from Juneau, Alaska.

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