Moving of Ehime Maru could begin tonight
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By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
The Navy yesterday was more optimistic about raising the Ehime Maru, and said that with slightly calmer seas, the historic task of winching the 830-ton ship from 2,000 feet and moving it to shallower water could begin tonight.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
Early on, the Navy figured an 80 percent chance of success. But after the civilian recovery ship Rockwater 2 moved the Japanese fisheries training vessel several times and finally, on Friday, placed a second lifting plate under the hull, Rear Adm. William Klemm said the chances "now are in the ballpark of 90 percent."
In a briefing on the project's progress, Rear Adm. William Klemm, officer in charge of recovering the Ehime Maru, says chances for success have improved to 90 percent.
As before, Navy officials said they hope to recover five to seven bodies from the Ehime Maru, which sank Feb. 9 after being rammed by the fast-attack submarine USS Greeneville during a surfacing drill. Nine men and boys were killed.
"I think we have very high confidence in this operation, and we expect to succeed," Klemm said.
Klemm said the laboriously slow process of raising and moving the Ehime Maru could begin late tonight or early tomorrow — depending on sea conditions.
The Rockwater 2 left port at noon yesterday for the site nine miles south of Diamond Head to connect winch cables and a top frame to a spreader assembly.
Recent stormy weather brought seas of 8 to 10 feet and 30-knot trade winds. Klemm said the front could pass today.
Ideally, the Navy said, the swells should be 6 feet or less to reduce movement between the two ships, which will be tethered together by four strands of 4 1/2-inch-thick cable connected to the spreader assembly suspended above the fishing vessel.
"If you jerk (the sunken ship), then you impart tremendous energy and the potential for breaking the ship exists," Klemm said. The Navy all along has worried about the hull breaking apart, although the need to lift the ship from its bow and stern led officials to believe it is stronger than originally thought. The anchors already have been brought ashore.
Klemm said there are other risks. The Ehime Maru will be lifted perpendicular to the recovery ship.
If a cable breaks on one side of the Rockwater 2 or a winch fails, it could cause "a very significant" roll, Klemm said.
"If that occurs, then obviously we have the potential for not only injury to personnel but equipment flying all over the place and some real nasty things could happen," he said. "In order to avoid that, we need to keep the ship close to the bottom so if there's a failure then the Ehime Maru comes to a rest on the bottom before it does serious damage topside."
The Rockwater 2 also needs to contend with wind- and swell-driven seas sometimes coming from different directions. Klemm said the Ehime Maru will be raised a little more than 3 feet a minute until the ship is 90 feet off the ocean floor.
Once raised, three Remotely Operated Vehicles will monitor beneath the hull, keep tabs on equipment and trail the Ehime Maru.
The trip to the shallow-water recovery site 14 nautical miles away, near Honolulu Airport's reef runway, will be made at the snail's pace of 0.2 to 0.5 knots — less than 1 mile per hour — and take three to four days, the Navy said.
The ship will be raised to clear a reef shelf about a mile out and will be steadied at 115 feet for two to three days before divers attempt to recover any bodies. Then operations will transfer to the Crowley Barge 450, a dive barge. Klemm said recovery efforts are expected to be made over a 33-day period.
The recovery mission has cost approximately $60 million to date — 50 percent more than originally estimated. Navy officials have promised families of the victims every attempt would be made to recover the bodies.
Klemm said there will be a "regular convoy" escorting the Rockwater 2, including the USNS Sumner, an oceanographic vessel, with the USS Salvor trailing. Also present is the Japanese ship JDS Chihaya.
Klemm also said there will be an "armada" of oil skimmer equipment to control any release of the remaining 10,000 gallons of fuel on board.
Klemm said there is no precedent for moving a ship of Ehime Maru's size from such a depth. The sunken Russian submarine Kursk — a much larger vessel at a much more shallow depth — was lifted earlier this week, Klemm said.
