New Ehime Maru is 'carrier of aloha spirit'
| • | See more photos of Ehime Maru's arrival |
By Mike Gordon and Kawehi Haug
Advertiser Staff Writers
With so many bad memories to overcome, the Hawai'i arrival of the new Ehime Maru presented an emotional challenge.
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Its very name was a reminder of tragedy, of the afternoon two years ago when a U.S. submarine accidentally sank another Ehime Maru. Nine people died. Four of them were 17-year-old boys.
Students aboard the Uwajima Fisheries High School training vessel Ehime Maru waved to those gathered at Pier 9 for a welcoming ceremony yesterday. The new Ehime Maru was on its maiden voyage from Japan to Honolulu.
But yesterday morning, as a new Ehime Maru glided into Honolulu Harbor as part of its maiden voyage, smiles and hugs replaced pain and sorrow.
The young students of Uwajima Fisheries High School waved from the railings to an enthusiastic crowd of 200 people. A Honolulu fireboat sent fountains of water overhead, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter zoomed back and forth and the Royal Hawaiian Band performed.
Among the crew was Daisuke Shinoto, 19, a survivor of the collision. Eleven other survivors, all older crew members, also were on board.
"I was moved by the warm welcome," said Shinoto, who had tossed flowers yesterday near the spot where his shipmates died. "I remembered the accident but it wasn't painful."
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Kazumitu Joko, principal of the fisheries school, stood beside Shinoto. The accident had caused "great sufferings" among students and staff and he was not sure how Shinoto would feel yesterday.
Hiju Ashikaga chats with Daisuke Shinoto, 19, one of the survivors of the 2001 Ehime Maru accident. Ashikaga helped care for the survivors.
"I worried about him a little but through his comments and behavior I felt he has grown a lot from the time of the accident," Joko said.
The survivors had left this same port on a gray Friday afternoon — Feb. 9, 2001 — and about an hour later, were rammed by the USS Greeneville as the submarine performed a surfacing drill for guests on board, making international news.
The new ship was built with $9.25 million in settlement money paid by the United States to the Ehime Prefecture. The ship was finished in November and is so new that some of its wheelhouse chrome is still wrapped in plastic.
Ever since the collision, Hawai'i residents have tried to comfort the ship's survivors and their families. That was the inspiration for yesterday's ceremony organized by the Japan-America Society of Hawai'i.
"I believe this is another affirmation of the close ties that have been forged over the past two years between Ehime and Hawai'i," said Earl Okawa, society president.
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Clifford Chillingworth, coach of the Hawaii Junior Baseball Team that visited Japan last year, brought some of his players to the ceremony. They had traveled to Ehime in November to play in a goodwill tournament.
The Ehime Maru enters Honolulu Harbor under a water-cannon salute from the Honolulu Fire Department's Moku Ahi boat.
"This completes the circle," Chillingworth said. "This event brings everything to a close. After a tragedy you just have to move on, and sometimes the best way is through the kids."
After clearing customs the crew of 36 filed down the gangplank for the reception. Each was given an orchid lei and they sat nearly expressionless for the ceremony.
Masatoshi Muto, consul general of Japan, told the crowd and crew that neither the tragedy nor the warm support from Hawai'i will be forgotten.
"The Ehime Maru is making its maiden voyage to Honolulu, bringing gratitude the people of Hawai'i," he said. "The Ehime Maru is a carrier of the aloha spirit and a vessel of human kindness."
Eight members of the Saint Louis Japanese Club brought a kukui nut lei to hang on the new ship when it arrived. A harbor pilot carried them to just outside the harbor mouth and they gave their Japanese counterparts the lei.
The Saint Louis students have become friends with the Uwajima students and have met some of them before. The Saint Louis club has volunteered to clean the Ehime Maru memorial in Kaka'ako Waterfront Park since it was unveiled on the first anniversary of the tragedy.
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Ahren Miura, 16, president of the club, wasn't sure how the students felt.
The new Ehime Maru docks at Aloha Tower during its first visit to Hawai'i. The ship was built with $9.25 million in settlement money.
"I guess it's hard for them," he said, "I think there are still some unfriendly feelings towards the United States and not trusting us."
But meetings like the one at today's ceremony will change that, club member Thomas Woo said.
"This is kind of emotional," Woo said. "We can relate to them, we're high school students too. But we're pretty fortunate for our lives and we will try to comfort them."
The only branch of service officially attending the ceremony was the U.S. Coast Guard.
"We're welcoming back a ship that represents a past that hasn't been good to us and anytime a ship comes in it's always good to welcome them with the aloha spirit," said Lt. Cmdr. Rick Raksnis, of the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office.
Although organizers said anyone could attend, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor said the Navy had not been invited.
The students will be in Honolulu for a few days and plan to lay wreaths the Ehime Maru memorial.
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
