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Navy secures Japanese ship, prepares for lift

image
The sunken wreckage of the Ehime Maru  


HONOLULU, Hawaii (CNN) -- Two cables are now in place under the sunken Japanese research vessel Ehime Maru, a major first step toward lifting the ship from its resting place 2,000 feet below the ocean's surface, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.

The Japanese ship was struck by a Navy nuclear submarine in February. Twenty-six people aboard the ship were rescued, but nine others, including four high-school students, were never found.

Wednesday evening, the Navy put a strap under the ship's stern and lifted it, allowing the two cables to be slid underneath. One cable is now under the stern and the other is under the pilot house, closer to the bow.

The Navy said lifting the stern caused no significant damage to the vessel and no significant leakage of diesel fuel.

RESOURCES
Message Board: The U.S. military  
 

Next, the Navy plans to work "lifting plates" beneath the keel of the Ehime Maru and attach them to a "spreader assembly," a mechanism above the ship to keep it stabilized when it is raised.

The ship will not be brought to the surface. Instead, powerful hoists from a salvage craft will pull the Ehime Maru to a depth of 100 feet off the coast of Oahu, near Honolulu International Airport, where divers will begin a search for missing crew members, personal items, and objects such as the ship's nameplate and anchors.

Japanese officials have asked for the nameplate, anchors and other items for a possible memorial.

Officials believe as many as seven bodies may still be trapped somewhere on the vessel.

Once divers search the ship, it will be taken to a location about 12 miles south of Oahu and sunk, the Navy has said.

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Cmdr. Scott Waddle  

The USS Greeneville was performing an emergency ascent drill February 9 to show 16 civilian guests the submarine's capabilities when it slammed into the Ehime Maru.

The collision strained U.S.-Japanese relations and resulted in a court of inquiry investigation of the top officers of the sub. The U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, Adm. Tom Fargo, reprimanded the Greeneville's commander -- effectively ending Cmdr. Scott Waddle's career -- and gave lesser verbal reprimands to five other officers.

A separate "captain's mast" hearing was recommended for the sonar operator who failed to report a nearby ship, which turned out to be the Ehime Maru.

-- CNN National Correspondent Martin Savidge contributed to this report






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• U.S. Navy
• CINCPACFLT: Ehime Maru Recovery
• Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

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