Posted at 10 a.m., Friday, July 13, 2001

Ehime Maru recovery crew arrives with high hopes

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Ocean Hercules arrived today at Honolulu Harbor's Pier 1. The boat's crew will be helping in the recovery of the Ehime Maru. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

The first civilian crew-members who will help with the recovery of the Ehime Maru arrived in Honolulu today and said they are excited about the job and their chances of success.

The nine-member crew from Oceaneering International arrived aboard the Ocean Hercules with their remotely operated vehicle Phoenix III safely tucked aboard. Sometime in the next two days, the Ocean Hercules will leave Honolulu Harbor for the site of the Japanese fishery training vessel, which lies in 2,000 feet of water about nine miles south of Diamond Head.

Paul Sanacore, superintendent of the Phoenix III, said his crew will use the deep-diving submersible to remove the Ehime Maru's masts, nets and any debris that could foul the lifting devices that will move the ship later this summer.

The Ehime Maru sank Feb. 9 after it was accidentally rammed by the nuclear submarine USS Greeneville. Nine people aboard the Japanese vessel, including four teenage boys, were lost after the collision. Their remains are thought to be trapped inside the Ehime Maru and the Navy has promised to try to recover them.

Once the Ocean Hercules is finished, the heavy-lift ship Rockwater 2 will rig the sunken vessel so it can be moved 14 miles to shallow water off the Honolulu International Airport's reef runway. At that point, Navy divers will attempt to recover any remains.

"When it is stabilized at a depth of 115 feet, divers will search all safely accessible areas to recover missing crewmembers, personal affects and certain unique characteristics of the ship, such as its nameplate and anchors, for a possible memorial," said Jon Yoshishige, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Sanacore said the Phoenix III is usually used to lay fiber optic cables on the sea floor and just finished a job near San Francisco. Although the Navy has said lifting the Ehime Maru is a difficult challenge, its depth and location do not pose any problems for the Phoenix III.

"Nowadays in deep water, whether it is 10,000 feet or 100 feet, it's nothing with today's technology," Sanacore said.

He said the Phoenix III, a boxy, bright yellow device about the size of a small sport utility vehicle, has mechanical arms that can move in seven different directions. It has several cameras that allow operators on the surface to see what they are doing below, said Sanacore, who used to do submarine rescue work when he was in the Navy.

Navy salvage officials have given the Phoenix III crew underwater videos of the fishery vessel that were taken shortly after it sank.

"We know what to expect," said Shawn Harris, a supervisor for the remote vehicle. "It's been done before."

But a job like this is unique and the crew knows it.

"We're leaving our footprints in the pages of history," said Richard Traynom, a hydraulics technician for the Phoenix III. "This team was hand-picked. I just got back from working in South Africa. This is the cream of the crop."