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Sunken Hokkaido tour boat drops back to seabed while being towed

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-1 ( +13 / -14 )

Woopsy Daisy!

-1 ( +13 / -14 )

So they worked hard and long to raise the vessel from 120m depth. And they drop it in 182m depth. Was the route from salvage point back to Utoro port based on a straight line for minimum time and fuel? Could the salvage vessel not sailed closer to shore in 30m of water in case exactly this happened? Sounds like a total FU situation.

1 ( +15 / -14 )

Such difficult work, now dropped to a depth greater than where it was found and amongst strong currents. Believe it was @3RENSHO yestereve reporting from another source there was possibly a hole in the hull as well. Godspeed to all involved in the ongoing salvage and recovery efforts to locate those who remain missing.

2 ( +16 / -14 )

Thank you Snowymountain; yes, it was reported by TV news that the boat hull had been punctured at the stern, near the rudder. (This is the area which sits lowest in the water, and if the boat driver had been operating close to shore to give the passengers a better view, then this would be the point of contact against underwater rocks.) If the engine compartment had subsequently flooded, the engine would have stopped and all propulsion lost...

2 ( +14 / -12 )

Don’t mess with physics, don’t mess with the deep sea.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

The transportation Ministry also need to look at themselves.

Why the heck would they allow tourist boats to operate in water that will kill you year round after 15 minutes and only require life jackets? Why?

Inflatable rescue rafts are VERY good these days. Small, compact, quick and easy to open. Available in bags or canisters. Self inflating. Have GPS… epurbs etc. solar lights, battery for lights for a few days, food, water, water filters, some have blankets… and so on.

As this boat took more than 40 minutes to sink, EVERY single person could have been saved with easily obtainable safety rafts.

2 ( +17 / -15 )

OssanAmericaToday  05:45 pm JST

So they worked hard and long to raise the vessel from 120m depth. And they drop it in 182m depth. Was the route from salvage point back to Utoro port based on a straight line for minimum time and fuel? Could the salvage vessel not sailed closer to shore in 30m of water in case exactly this happened? Sounds like a total FU situation.

Seems they need an expert on hand so you need to get up there asap and show them how to do it.

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

That’s embarrassing,

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Harry_GattoToday  07:02 pm JST

OssanAmericaToday  05:45 pm JST

So they worked hard and long to raise the vessel from 120m depth. And they drop it in 182m depth. Was the route from salvage point back to Utoro port based on a straight line for minimum time and fuel? Could the salvage vessel not sailed closer to shore in 30m of water in case exactly this happened? Sounds like a total FU situation.

Seems they need an expert on hand so you need to get up there asap and show them how to do it.

Common sense doesn't require expertise. But then, they didn'r properly secure the front cradle strap either. So maybe something is lacking here.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

It looks like they will raise it again. The depth is about 180m a bit deeper, but they said they can do it.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Must be terrible for the families and loved ones of the 12 missing.

Imagine hearing that they dropped the boat (np) when you were hoping to be able to put them at peace

3 ( +6 / -3 )

There's a lot of money in salvage operations. The insurers can point to lots of issues in order to avoid payment. So who will pay? Some government department? That salvage ship doesn't operate as a charity.

Coastguard enquiry starting, er, soon. Transport ministry revoking the operating permit maybe next week. There's still an overall shouganai air to this article. Bang! Bang! This is the sound of the stable door being firmly shut once the horses have gone out to play.

Where is the resolve for some action? The unannounced spot checks, on boat conditions, communications, all life-saving options eg rafts, flares? and even items like staff morale? This is the same transport ministry that can't implement efficient traffic light sequencing. Don't hold your breath.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Salvage operations are tricky business. The sea currents around the site are fast and change at different depths.

Pair that with a waterlogged and damaged hull, and it’s like dragging a huge flailing anchor on a line 100m long.

And it’s not like to Govt is going to commission Howard Hughes to build a custom built salvage barge, when he retrieved that Soviet submarine.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I can't believe that the salvage company did not use simple technology as underwater buoyancy where you use inflated balloons at various points of the boat under water and then inflate the balloons the boat will slowly rise to the top then they could tow it. Oh well, try again!

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Why the heck would they allow tourist boats to operate in water that will kill you year round after 15 minutes and only require life jackets? Why?

Similar questions were asked in 1912 at the enquiry into the loss of the RMS Titanic.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Thank you Snowymountain; yes, it was reported by TV news that the boat hull had been punctured at the stern, near the rudder. (This is the area which sits lowest in the water, and if the boat driver had been operating close to shore to give the passengers a better view, then this would be the point of contact against underwater rocks.) If the engine compartment had subsequently flooded, the engine would have stopped and all propulsion lost..

Before the boat sank the crew reported it was taking on water towards the bow. The next to last paragraph says:

"The sightseeing vessel made an emergency call early Saturday afternoon, saying its bow had flooded and that it was beginning to sink and tilt, the coast guard said. Contact with the boat had since been lost. The coast guard said the operator told them that everyone on the boat was wearing a life vest, but some of the victims found were without them."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tour-boat-26-missing-north-japan-distress-call-r

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Why the heck would they allow tourist boats to operate in water that will kill you year round after 15 minutes and only require life jackets? Why?

Dry suits have to be fitted to the individual and take time to put on. They also cost a couple of thousand bucks a pop. One does not see passengers on expedition cruises to the Antarctic wearing Gumby Suits either despite the cold water.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Said it before. No bodies, let it be. Wasting money now. Sea Gods are pissed and this whole accident is cursed.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

On the news last night they were saying that two cables carrying the rear of the lifted boat had suddenly snapped ‘for reasons unknown’.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Desert Tortoise

Expedition cruises

I think you have those confused

Every single employee on any USA fish processing vessel in the Bering sea has their own gumby suit .

Just to compare .

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"There is no sense of improvement in the safety management system and it is highly likely that a serious accident would occur again if we allow the operation to continue as it is," transport minister Tetsuo Saito told a press conference in Tokyo.

The problem is that rest of the operators keep working with the same regulation system that allowed this to happen, so it would not be strange that similar serious faults could be found around if someone were to investigate seriously.

What kind of survival equipment is required for the rest of the companies operating there? enough to let people survive for hours in case of an accident?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Today they say it was the two rear canvas belts that tore through, so they are replacing them with tougher canvas versions.

(To the person going to the trouble of giving a negative vote to such updates, please explain why.)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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