Off Japan

Vessel Sinks, Eight Drown

At least eight crew members of a Panama-registered cargo ship drowned after the vessel sank off Japan on Sunday, the Japanese coastguard said on Monday. The 3,561-ton White Koowa, with a crew of two Japanese and 12 Filipinos, was carrying 3,000 tons of nickel ore when it sank off Kochi, about 335 miles southwest of Tokyo. Five crew were rescued on Monday and one Filipino crew member remained unaccounted for after the coastguard dispatched patrol boats and aircraft to the scene on Monday. The dead included the ship's captain and chief engineer, both Japanese. It was not known immediately why the ship went down. The White Koowa, which left Indonesia on December 26, had been due to arrive at a southwestern Japanese port on Monday. - (Reuters)

Korean Ship Feared Sunk Off Japan

Rescue officials found a body during a search for a Korean ship missing off southwestern Japan, raising fears the cargo vessel foundered in heavy seas with 28 crew on board, Japan's coast guard said. "Given the facts, we have to conclude that the ship has probably sunk," a coast guard spokesman said. The 22,725-ton Korean-registered Honghae Sanyo vanished with a cargo of gravel in heavy winds and high seas late on Tuesday after failing to pick up a navigator en route to a port in Hyogo

First Japanese Offshore Wind Farm

The Japanese government says its first electricity-generating wind farm to be built off the country’s coast will be ready to start in January 2013 According to 'The Japan Daily Press' the Government’s feed-in tariffs have just gone into effect this month , making electricity generated from renewable resources like solar and wind to be sold at higher prices for the next 20 years. This wind farm, along with announced plans for the construction of Japan’s largest solar panel

U.S. Navy Repositions Ships Off Japan, Contamination Detected

The U.S. 7th Fleet has temporarily repositioned its ships and aircraft away from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant after detecting low level contamination in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area. The source of this airborne radioactivity is a radioactive plume released from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant.    For perspective, the maximum potential radiation dose received by any ship's force personnel aboard the ship when it passed through the area

Japan's KHI to Spin Off Shipbuilding

The Kyodo news service has reported that Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan will spin off its shipbuilding division on Oct. 1 into a new wholly owned subsidiary. The new subsidiary will reportedly be known as Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corp., and will specialize in the manufacture of ships and related equipment, Kawasaki Heavy said in a release. The spinoff is designed to create an efficient corporate structure that will enable the shipbuilding arm to cope with the global shipbuilding

Six Countries Plan Asian Naval Security Drill

Reuters has reported that six countries including Japan, China, South Korea and the United States are to hold a series of joint maritime exercises, just weeks after Tokyo and Seoul were locked in a tense stand-off over some tiny disputed islands. Japan, China, South Korea, the United States, Canada and Russia will launch naval exercises in the Japan Sea and East China Sea to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction, starting on Saturday, Japanese Coastguard officials said.

Bulker Being Towed Away from New Zealand

The New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) has stated that the bulker Taharoa Express is being towed away from the Northland coastline, after being at anchor off the coast of Dargaville for the past two days as a result of engine problems. The towage passage plan calls for the ship to be towed 200 miles offshore where it will be met by a larger tug for towage to Japan.

Product Tanker Stays Strong In Mideast

The New Year started much as the old left off with product tanker markets strong Mideast-Far East and Tran-Atlantic but weak elsewhere. LR2 tanker rates for Mideast-Japan jumped five and ten Worldscale points on successive days, according to brokers.

Japanese Navy Leaves for Anti-Piracy Mission

According to a report from Bloomberg, two Japanese naval vessels set sail on March 14 to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. The two warships, each carrying about 200 crew members and two helicopters, will escort vessels carrying Japanese cargo or passengers through the Gulf of Aden, said a spokesman at Japan’s defense ministry on the condition of anonymity. (Source: Bloomberg)

This Day in Naval History – April 14

1898 - Commissioning of first Post Civil War hospital ship, USS Solace 1969 - North Korean aircraft shoots down Navy EC-121 reconnaissance aircraft from VQ-1 over the Sea of Japan 1988 - USS Samuel B. Roberts struck Iranian mine off Qatar 1989 - First Navy ship arrives on scene to assist in Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup (Source: Navy News Service)