U.S. sinks Japanese ship adrift since tsunami

OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA -- The long, lonely voyage of the Japanese ghost ship is over.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter unleashed cannon fire on the abandoned 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru yesterday, ending a journey that began when last year's tsunami dislodged it and set it adrift across the Pacific Ocean.

It sank into waters more than 1,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Alaska, more than 150 miles from land.

The crew pummeled the ghost ship with high explosive ammunition and, soon after, the Ryou-Un Maru burst into flames, began to take on water and list, officials said.

In about four hours, the ship vanished into the water, said Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow in Juneau.

Officials decided to sink the ship rather than risk the chance of it running aground or endangering other vessels in the shipping lanes between North America and Asia.

The ship had no lights or communications system and had a tank that could carry more than 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel. It was not known how much fuel, if any, was aboard.

"It's less risky than it would be running into shore or running into [maritime] traffic," Webb said.

The ship had been destined for scrapping when the earthquake struck, so there is no cargo on board, according to Webb. He said he doesn't know who owns the Ryou-Un Maru, which had been traveling about a mile an hour.

The goal was to punch holes in the Ryou-Un Maru and sink it. A Coast Guard C-130 plane crew monitored the operation.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency decided it was safer to sink the shi.