Posted at 2 p.m., Friday, August 31, 2001

Weather delays Ehime Maru recovery

• Previous story: Ehime Maru lift operation hits snag

Associated Press

The Navy said today it would wait out stiff winds and choppy seas before trying to lift the stern of the Ehime Maru a second time.

Lt. j.g. Anne Cossitt said the Navy determined it is not safe to proceed with the maneuver with trade winds approaching 40 knots and wave heights at 10 feet.

Navy and contract engineers are trying to reposition wires underneath the hull of the Japanese fishing vessel to install equipment that will be used to move it closer to shore in mid-September. That is so divers can search for the bodies of nine men and boys from the Japanese fishing vessel sunk by the USS Greeneville submarine in February.

Using a giant sling, the Rockwater 2 maintenance vessel raised the stern while a pair of messenger wires were positioned beneath the hull during an operation that ended early yesterday nine miles off Diamond Head.

At first, the Navy reported the operation a complete success.

But when the sediment cleared 2,000 feet below the surface of the ocean, a remotely operated vehicle discovered one of the wires had snagged near the middle of the hull, beneath the sunken ship's pilot house, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said.

The stern was to be raised a second time Friday to adjust the wire, but those plans were indefinitely delayed because of the weather, Cossitt said.

"We're just in a weather holding pattern right now," she said. "To conduct any sort of operations as far as lifting the stern, it's not optimal."