Ehime Maru search dives continue

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Navy said today it has no immediate plans to end the search for the ninth Ehime Maru crew member as divers approach 400 dives since Oct. 15.

As of 9 a.m. today, divers have performed 383 dives with 294 hours of bottom time, said Navy spokesman Jon Yoshishige.

Today, surface-supplied divers and scuba divers will search the sunken ship for the missing crewmber as well as for personal items and items unique to the ship such as the name plate, Yoshishige said. The Japanese government wants the items for a possible memorial.

The Navy said it will evaluate the diving operation at midweek. Diving operations started on Oct. 15 and were originally scheduled to last 33 days, but delays have changed schedules.

"There is no deadline," said Navy spokeswoman Lt. j.g. Anne Cossitt. "The Navy is not going to search indefinitely, but we'll continue to search until we've searched the entire vessel."

As of last Wednesday afternoon, divers had searched 85 percent of the sunken ship, Cossitt said.

The divers have recovered the remains of eight of the nine crewmen, teachers and students killed when the fisheries training vessel was rammed and sunk by the Navy submarine USS Greeneville Feb. 9.